


Tea Leaves and Red Silk

by Noizchild



Series: Wasteland 2011 [11]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: D.Gray-man crossover, Durarara crossover, Execution, F/M, Gen, Loss of sexuality, Love, Misery, Rape, Revenge, Suffering, Wasteland, Wedding, crossover special chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-27 17:53:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 31
Words: 25,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6294007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noizchild/pseuds/Noizchild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fourth volume up. One of three stories that follow my poem, "Wasteland 2011." It's a nice day for a wedding. Ju comes up with the idea as a safety net for her clan. However, both sides aren't too keen on this. So why isn't anyone standing up and stopping this before they can go through with it? Meanwhile, the gates to the Wasteland have been ripped open. Who's getting dragged in?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Proposal, Tangled, and Murder

Tea Leaves and Red Silk

Match One: Proposal, Tangled, and Murder:

-Ju-

On April fifteenth, 2014, I killed my soul even further. Yao and I lay in bed together in the early morning hours. I didn't even really think when I blurted it out.

"Yao, I think we should get married," I told him. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"What?" Yao asked. This decision didn't come easily for me. I have my motives for this idea.

"I'm not doing this for a romantic notion," I admitted.

"Ju…" he murmured.

"Please hear me out." I pressed my lips together. To be honest, I didn't plan this out beforehand. Even in my head, the idea was awkward. This wasn't how it was supposed to end up. Why couldn't I just kicked out the idea from jump?

"It's for security reasons," I explained. "I want to make sure that my clan survives."

"What are you talking about? We've had three strong years with this clan financially."

"But how long will that long? I don't want to let down my family when they need me most."

Yao raised an eyebrow. "Is this about Szu?"

I shook my head. "It's more than her! There's my uncle, the missing money, and the strange things that been happening to all of us." I didn't think that my heart would be racing so fast as I spoke. My words just spilled out one after another. I swallowed a mouthful of air.  _Stop. Stop. Stop!_  I rubbed my forehead and closed my eyes.

"I just want to make sure there a safety for us all to fall back on."

"But why marriage?"

"I don't know." I couldn't answer that question for myself. This decision wasn't even made with my heart. "Please just go with me on this." I grabbed onto his hand.  _Please stop me. I'm not in control of my slipping sanity._

"You're only nineteen," Yao said.

"Not anymore," I said. "I just became of age four hours ago."

"Happy birthday."

"Thank you." It sounded hollow out of my mouth. I haven't been a child since my mother died. My father trained me as his heir from the age of four. Still, I can't blame him for what I am trying to do.

"We don't have to do this," Yao said in a low voice.

"I feel like I must," I said back. "Don't ask me why." Even the voice of reason in my head fell on deaf ears. "Just think about it at least." Yao grabbed my hands.

"I will help you," he said. He sealed the death of my soul with those four words.  _Why couldn't you turn me away?_   _I hoped that you would've said no or talked me out of this._  I bowed my head, kissing his hand.

"Thank you, Yao," I murmured. Once again, I stabbed my own soul in the heart. I will watch it die again and again on our wedding day.

-Five Months Ago-

I unlocked my front door, sighing. What did I go and do that for? The only thing I thought of now was doing my homework, taking a bath, and going to bed.

"Ju!" I heard someone shout as I opened the door. I turned around and my jaw just dropped. Stefan walked up my driveway with that charming smile he had on his face all those years ago.

"Ello," he greeted me. I didn't have the words I wanted to say to him. Part of me hoped to be dreaming right now.

"Is that really you?" I asked. Stefan walked up to me and took hold of my waist.

"Of course!" he said. I blinked at him as I tried to think of a way to reply.

"What do you want?" I asked. Stefan flashed his famous grin at me.

"What else?" he asked. "I want you back." I opened my mouth to speak, but he was quick to shush me. My heart raced in my chest as he was about to kiss me.  _We can't be doing this. Stop! Stop!_

"Ju! I have found a lead on Huan's boyfriend!" someone shouted at me. Stefan and I looked up to see Yao walking up my driveway with a folder in his hand. My eyes grew big in panic as he slowed to a stop. I looked between both me—my past and my future. How did it turn into this? Yao raised an eyebrow at us.

"What's going on here?" he asked. I stood there with all of the color drained from my face. I wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.

"Yao!" I yelped. Yao's eyes shifted to Stefan.

"Who the hell is this?" he asked.

"Uh…" I started to say.  _Say something, stupid!_  Stefan stepped forward, bowing his head.

"I was just seeing myself out," he said. "Goodbye." Yao and I stare blankly as my ex walked out the door. I didn't get time to run away as hell fell from the sky and crashed to the ground.

"Ju, who was that?" Yao asked. I bit on my lower lip.

"Uh… well…" I said. I lowered my head and gave him my answer. "He's my ex-boyfriend."


	2. Exes, Shouting, and Trust Issues

Match Two: Exes, Shouting, and Trust Issues:

-Ju-

Yao's face turned bright red.

"Your ex?!" he shouted. "Your ex?!"

"We didn't do anything!" I yelled.

"That doesn't matter!"

"What?!" I felt like screaming. Why did this matter? I wasn't like I was cheating on Yao or anything. What was I even getting upset for? I closed my mouth and took a deep breath.

"Look," I said. "He just wanted to talk." Yao glared at me.

"About what?" he asked. I put up my hands, shrugging with a cheesy grin on my face. He walked into my kitchen.

"Yao?" I asked, following behind.

"You didn't even know what he wanted to talk about?"

"Well, you had just walked in when we had just started." His next question knocked me right out of balance. "Do you still have feelings for him?" I froze with big eyes.  _Why would you ask me should a thing?_

"Do you?" he asked. How would I even begin to answer that? I wrinkled my nose.

"What would you possess you to ask me that?" I asked.

"Do you?"

"I don't know!" I clenched my fists at my slides. "I haven't seen or heard from him in years."

"So, he just decided to come out from wherever he came from on whimp just to see you?"

"Yes!" I shouted. "Are we done with this crap?!" Yao snorted as he pulled out a bag of tea leaves from the cabinet.

"I don't know," he said. "That will depend on you." I frowned.  _What is with the passive-aggressive attitude?_  I felt that was making drama out of nothing. Yao wouldn't let it go for a month.

-Present Day-

I rolled over on my side of the bed. We are in a much better place now that we have worked things through. Still, I couldn't erase this foreboding feeling in my gut.  _Am I making the right step with this proposal?_  I stared at the oddly shaped stain on my bedroom wall.  _What is that?_ I didn't remember making that or it even being there. Had that stain always been on my wall? Strangely, the more I stared at that weird stain, the more I unconsciously sealed our fates. Too bad, I didn't turn around and see myself falling deeper into the trap in time.

Right now, we had work to do before we reached that point.


	3. White Ash

Match Three: White Ash:

While Florence slept in her bed, Alfred stepped out on the back porch and made a quick phone call.

“Hello?” Arthur asked on the other line.

“Art, old pal!” the American man perked up. “Just the person I wanted to talk to.”

“Why?” the English man asked. “This better not be a prank call!”

“No, no! I just have a question for you!”

“Okay…”

“I mean it.”

“So spit it out!”

Alfred’s eyes shifted left and right before speaking. “Is it possible to have a relationship with a tree spirit?”

Arthur paused over the phone. “What?!”

“I want to know if I can have a tree spirit or not.”

“Why?”

Alfred shrugged on his end of the line. “I was just curious.”

“Why would you be curious about that?”

“Well, is it possible?”

Arthur sighed on his line. “Yes, it is possible.”

“So… how would I woo her? This is just a what-if type thing, of course.”

“Just like a normal woman, I guess.”

The American man narrowed his eyes. “That’s all it takes?”

“Yeah. Tell me, this wouldn’t have anything to do with Florence, would it?”

“No! Why would you think that?” Alfred’s face turn red as he said that. His tone did little to convince the English man on the other line too.

“Right…” Arthur said.

“I’m not!” the American man shouted into the phone.

“Okay, I believe you. Still, I have to tell you something.”

“What?”

“If you do form a relationship with her, it won’t last long.”

Alfred raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“I have the sense that Florence might not live long. It wouldn’t be in your best interest to get close to her.”

Usually, Alfred would tease Arthur about his occult powers and brush him off. This time, something in the English man’s tone told him this wasn’t the time for that. The American man didn’t even have the right response for this warning. Instead, he pressed his lips together and nodded.

“Thanks, Dude,” he said.

“I could be wrong, but please, for your sake, tread lightly with Florence,” Arthur said. “I just couldn’t stand to see you all broken up if she died and you were so close to her.”

“Okay.”

“Anything else?”

“No, nothing at all. Bye.” Alfred hung up, uncertain of Arthur’s words. He turned his attention to Florence and Lydia’s house. Somehow, he had the feeling that this wouldn’t end with one phone call for advice.


	4. Scratching the Gates

Match Four: Scratching the Gates:

This evening was supposed to be a joyous celebration. Kiku already had a bad feeling about this. He woke up from another nightmare. However, this one felt different from the previous ones that he had in the past. He saw fire, but couldn't hear screaming. The Japanese man still felt the agony in his heart.

 _I couldn't hear their voices._  Ikebukuro felt it the worst. Too many people were dying or disappearing as of late. Kiku's hands trembled as he grabbed his sheets.  _No, it can't be happening again!_  He could already see the signs. It started with a phone call early that morning.

"Hello?" Kiku asked, buried under his sheets.

"My favorite little brother!" Yao exclaimed on the other line. "How are you doing?" Kiku frowned at the excited tone in his voice.

"What is it, Yao?" he grumbled. The Japanese man hoped this conversation wouldn't last too long.

"I have great news!" Yao said.

"What is it?"

"Ju and I are getting married."

Kiku sat up at the sound of that announcement. Part of him dread that key of the prophecy. "What?" he asked.

"Ju and I are getting married," Yao repeated. "I just wanted you to be the first one to hear it from me."

"Yes," Kiku said in a trembling voice. He pressed his lips together.

"Kiku, are you feeling okay?" his older brother asked. "You don't sound too well." The younger brother shook his head.

"No, I just have a slight headache," he lied.

"Oh, I have some herbs that you could use," Yao said.

"No thank you, it'll pass."

"You sure? I can bring it to you."

"No, it's fine, really."

"Okay, we're having a dinner party tonight to announce the engagement to everyone at six o'clock."

"Alright, sure."

"I guess I'll let you rest now."

"Thank you, Yao." Kiku hung up before his Chinese brother could say another word. The Japanese man buried his head in his hands.  _They are really getting married._  He had a dream about a wedding engulfed in flames. He couldn't hear the screams, but he could sense the bride was in agony with her decision as she signed away her single life. However, the wedding wasn't the thing he feared. Ikebukuro would burn further if this wedding went through as planned. Kiku saw the whole picture six months ago. It all started when his therapist was found in the men's bathroom in the psychiatrist office with his throat violently slashed in his sea of blood.

"He knew too much," a voice told Kiku in his head when he heard the news. He had a feeling that his therapist's death was only the start of the warnings to him. The Japanese man feared who would be next. Because of this, he tried to avoid everyone for six months. Now, that reliable tactic would fail him. Kiku found himself stuck on whether or not he should tell someone. He shut his eyes, shaking his head.

_I don't want to see those gates ripped open._

Outside his window, a pair of dark eyes watched Kiku's every move, waiting. The blackened fifteen-year-old girl bid her time.


	5. Dinner Party Announcement

Match Five: Dinner Party Announcement:

Around six in the evening, the countries arrived at Ju's house for the dinner party. The whispers already filled the dining room. Kiku's hands trembled at the table. He couldn't get the image of fire out of his head.  _This marriage cannot happen. This marriage cannot happen!_  Ludwig gave the Japanese man a strange look.

"Are you feeling okay, Kiku?" he asked. His ally turned his head. Ludwig had never seen him with such tired eyes in his life.

"What?" the Japanese man asked.

"Are you sleeping well?" the German man asked. Kiku slowly shook his head.

"What's the matter, Kiku?" Feliciano asked. Ludwig rested his hand on the Italian man. Kiku looked down at his hands. He couldn't tell anyone what was to unfold just yet. Right now, the Japanese man could feel a pair of cold eyes staring him down from behind.

Meanwhile, Alfred looked around with his arms folded across his chest.

"Where's the food?" he asked. "I'm starving over here!"

"I'll be happy to have a salad," Lydia said.

"Can't you be patient?" Arthur asked. "We are the guests here. Show some class."

"But I'm hungry!" Alfred complained. The English man sighed as he buried his head in his hands.

"You are hopeless," he muttered under his breath.

Ju peeked out from the kitchen. She did a quick head count at the table.

"It looks like everyone is here," she whispered. Yao rested his chin atop her head.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. Ju sighed.

"We've been over this, Yao," she said.

"I know. I just don't want you to end up regretting this."

"Let's just get this over with so that we can move on with what we need to do."

"Right." Yao pushed open the door and let her out first.

The countries looked up when the doors opened. Ju put on her biggest smile.

"Good evening, everyone!" she greeted guests. "Welcome to my humble home."

"How is everyone tonight?" Yao asked.

"When do we eat?" Alfred asked. Arthur kicked him under the table.

"Ow," the American man said.

"Knock it off," the English man whispered.

"Dinner will be served in a couple of minutes," Ju said. "Right now, we will have some wine." Two women from the catering staff came around and served the guests wine. Kiku tried to use the alcohol to calm himself down. Yao and Ju took their seats at the head of the table. The former held up his glass.

"I purpose a toast!" he announced. Ju's eyes darted upwards as he pulled her to her feet. Kiku felt his stomach drop as he looked at the couple.  _Here it comes_ , he thought. The Japanese man could see the gates rattling to try and rip open. In fact, he anticipated it, counted down to it. Yao held up his glass.

"Everyone!" he said. "We have an announcement to make." Yao gently nudged Ju on the arm. She fought to keep a smile on her face.

"Yao and I are getting married," she said. At first, shocked silent filled the room. Kiku's eyes widened at the gates to the Wasteland cracked open. He downed another glass of wine. Ludwig touched his wrist. The Japanese man turned his head.

"When did this happen?" Francis asked.

"Three days ago," Yao answered.

"We don't have a wedding date yet," Ju added.

"Wow!" Feliciano said. "Congratulations!" An applause filled the dining room. Kiku held his glass as he tried to keep himself together.

"Thank you," Yao said. "Thank you so much!" The hosts and guests toasted and took a drink.  _It's too late to turn back now_ , Ju thought. She could already feel her soul dying even further with the announcement and it wouldn't stop when the female carters wheeled out hot and fresh Chinese cuisine. Yao and Ju sat down as their guests received their plates. The evening might be fine, but one question still remained.

Who was going to march into the Wasteland first?


	6. Juniper

Match Six: Juniper:

-Five Months Ago-

Alfred was the one who came up with the idea. Lydia gave him a strange look.

"Coney Island?" she asked back in December.

"Yeah," Alfred said, nodding.

"You want to go to Coney Island in December?"

"Yes."

Lydia blinked. "Why?"

Alfred shrugged his shoulders. "It's not good for you guys to be stuffed up in this house."

"But it's December!"

"So?"

"We can't go to the beach."

"We don't have to. There are other things to do in Coney Island in winter."

Lydia put her hands on her hips. "Like what?"

Alfred's face came within inches of hers. "Why don't you come along and see?"

"But Flo's too sick."

"All the better! She could use a little fresh air. Besides, Flo must be bored in her room sleeping all day." Alfred stared Lydia deep in her eyes. "Anything else?"

She pouted at him, frowning. "No…"

Alfred smiled and patted her on the head. "Good, I'll pick you both up on Saturday."

Lydia's frown deepened. "Uh-huh."

Saturday brought a light snowfall. Alfred, Florence, and Lydia got off the bus all bundled up in coats and winter gear. The teenage girl glared at her sister's friend.

"So why are we out here again?" she asked. Alfred patted her on the head.

"Come along and you shall see," he said.

"I wish you would stop doing that," Lydia mumbled under her breath. Florence held her scarf to her throat. Her skin looked drained of any color. It was a miracle that she could remain standing. Alfred and Lydia let her sleep on the bus ride to Coney Island.

"This really isn't a good idea," Lydia whispered.

"It'll be fine," Alfred insisted. "She needs this anyway!" For now, it was too early to tell since they just got off at their stop.

"Are you okay?" Alfred whispered.

"I'm fine," Florence said in a soft voice.

"We can't stay out in the cold too long," Lydia reminded Alfred.

"Right!" the American man shouted. "Which is why we are off to the aquarium!" Alfred marched down the street. Florence followed behind. Lydia gave her "sister" as unease look as she straggled down the path. The American man caught Florence by the elbow.

"Hey!" he yelled behind him. "Come on or we'll leave you behind!" Lydia frowned, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled. The girl raced to catch up with the adults.

Usually, Alfred didn't care much about aquariums. He found them rather boring, in fact. They were just filled with fish swimming all for the entertain of humans. Today, Alfred didn't made it. He could've sworn that he saw Florence smile for a second. He noticed that the greenish-blue haze made her look prettier. Even Lydia was quiet as they walked through, looking at the different species of fish.

"Well?" Alfred asked.

"You did okay," Lydia said, nodding. Florence spent most of the aquarium tour sitting on different benches. Alfred brought her a warm cup of tea.

"Thank you," Florence said with a soft voice. The warm drink added a little color to her cheeks.

"Where are we going now?" Lydia asked once they walked out into the snow.

"We're going for a walk along the boardwalk," Alfred said. The teenage girl titled her head.

"Huh?" she asked. The American man smiled and winked.

"Just go with me on this," she said.

Alfred walked with his girls along the boardwalk. Everyone around them was preparing for Christmas coming in a couple of days. Children chattered about what they wanted while their parents tried to keep up. Alfred had the rest of the afternoon planned out. He figured they would walk along the boardwalk for a while, grab a bit to eat, hit the Coney Island Museum, and head home. So far, his impromptu plan was working. Florence was walking a little bit better beside Alfred. Lydia, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes at him.

"I still don't get it," she said.

"Get what?" Alfred asked.

"Why are we out here?" Lydia asked. "Why are you doing this for us?" Alfred placed his hand behind his head.

"I just figured we all could hang up together this Christmas," he said. "I couldn't stand seeing the two of you cooped up in that house for all of winter." Lydia raised an eyebrow.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"Yes. Come on, dude! What do I have to you to get you trust me?"

Lydia turned her head away. "I'll think about it." Alfred sighed as her put his arm around Florence's frail shoulders. Still, today filled him with warm and fuzzy feelings.  _Could everyday be like this?_  Alfred began wondering about being in Florence and Lydia's more often. Despite not eating meat, that option seemed like a nice life. That changed when a rather puzzling question entered his head.  _Is it even possible to have a relationship with a tree spirit?_

-Present Day-

Alfred got up one morning in April and made that phone call to Arthur.


	7. Turn Away from the Fire

Match Seven: Turn Away from the Fire:

-Present Day-

Kiku couldn't hold back anymore. Throughout dinner, the traces of the wasteland wouldn't let him eat. The other countries ate and socialized at this engagement, unaware of the coming hell right next them. He lowered his glass and darted out of the dining room. Yao happened to look up and notice the door sliding shut.

"Can you excuse me for a moment?" he whispered in Ju's ear. "I think Kiku isn't feeling well."

"Sure," she said back. Yao got up from the table and followed his brother. Ju clutched her chopsticks as the door slid shut behind him.

\--------

Kiku stood outside in the yard, mumbling something to himself. The images of fire danced around in his eyes. Ikebukuro's darkness started to reach the surface in his brain last night. The gaping hole in his sanity already ate away at him. The other countries couldn't see or feel it yet.

"Kiku?" someone asked as they grabbed him on the shoulder. The Japanese whipped around to see Yao staring at him, frowning.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. Kiku's eyes had the look of a cornered animal.

"You cannot go through this wedding!" he blurted out. Yao tilted his head.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. The Japanese man drew his mouth closed. That slip of mania already alerted one of the others to the wasteland beckoning to them. He lowered his head.

"Do you promise not to think I'm crazy if I tell you?" he asked.

"What?" Yao asked. "What's the matter with you? You've been acting strange ever since you left the hospital three years ago. Did something happen?" Kiku dropped his shoulders.

"To be honest, I don't really know how to answer that myself," he said in a quiet voice. Kiku lifted his head. "I see strange things."

"Strange things?" Yao asked. Kiku shook his head.

"I can't you tell you anything else," he said. "I already got somebody killed because of it."

"What do you know mean?" his brother asked. "You aren't making any sense." Kiku grabbed him by the arms.

"You can't go through with this wedding!" he pleaded.

"I have to," Yao said, resting his hand on the Japanese man's shoulders. "She's doing this to save her clan."

"Is there any other way?"

"She doesn't seem to believe so."

"But what do you want?"

Yao pressed his lips together. "You wouldn't understand." Kiku sat down on the ground.

"It started with the visions," he admitted with labored breath. Yao opened his mouth to speak.

"Please," Kiku said. "Let me finished. Please listen to what I have to say first." The older brother closed his mouth.

"Alright," Yao said. "I will listen." Kiku looked in the eye.

"I've only told this to my therapist," he confessed. Yao's facial expression went blank.

"You've been in therapy?"

"Please listen to me!"

Yao closed his mouth. "Alright, tell me everything. Take your time if you need to."

"I thank you." Kiku drew his eyes closed and broke the awful truth pieces to his older brother.

\--------

 

Meanwhile back at the table, Ju began facing her own mental break down as she listened to her guests' chatter and waited for Yao and Kiku to return.


	8. Turnmoil

Match Eight: Turmoil:

-Six Months Ago-

On the outside, Szu is doing fine. She still smiles. She still talks to her friends. The girl still socializes with people. She still loves to sing. Her laughter hasn't changed one bit. Szu still struggles in school, but nothing too serious as before. She still dresses the same and her diet hasn't changed. To everyone close to her, Szu is fine.

On the inside, she is damaged. She can't sleep with the lights off anymore. She gets scared when men outside of the clan touch her. Szu didn't get a good look at the man who raped her that night. Despite scrubbing her skin raw in the shower, she could still feel him on her. Her mind wouldn't let her let go of the image of his hands grabbing at her. Szu found herself waking up screaming and covered in sweat at nights. She can't even bring herself to talk about it. What would she say? Who else would believe her? Szu didn't get a good look at the guy. They would probably accuse her of seducing the guy and claiming he raped her out of retaliation for bad sex. She figured that it she could survive this, it would all go away. Qian refuses to let it go, however. Three weeks after the assault, he knocked on her bedroom door.

"Szu," he said. "We need to talk about it." She sat on the floor with her knees to her chest.

"I don't want to," she said with her voice muzzled.

"We can't keep avoiding this."

"Go away!" Szu wants to forget. Qian trying to talk to her about what happened keeps reopening old wounds. She never saw it coming. Her attacker grabbed her from behind and forced her to the floor. She didn't even see his face. Outside, Qian dropped his shoulders and sighed.

"Szu, this isn't going to go away," he said. "Let me help you. We'll go to the police together."

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Who would believe me?"

"I believe you. Your mom believes you. Your dad believes you. Why wouldn't the police believe you?"

"I don't even know what he looked like."

"So? What's the one thing you remember about him?"

"I don't know!"

"Try!"

Inside, Szu put her hands over her ears and closed her eyes, whimpering. "Please, leave me alone! I just want it all to go away!"

"It will as soon as you let me help you!" Qian froze when he felt someone touch him on the shoulder. He turned his head and saw Lili frowning with a stern look on his face.

"Could you please leave?" he asked in a low voice. "Can't you see you're upsetting her?"

"But…"

"Please leave."

Qian struggled to say something back, but upon realizing that his arguments would fall on deaf ears, he dropped his shoulders and walked out of the house. Still, that boy couldn't let the matter rest. If Szu and her parents weren't going to act, he would take matter into his own hands.

So, Qian went over to underground nightclub and talked with a close friend in the seedy bathroom.


	9. Bargain

Match Nine: Bargain:

Friday night.

An undisclosed seedy underground nightclub pounded music through the stale air. Bodies danced to the flashing lights around them. Qian didn't focus on that tonight. He headed straight back to the bathroom. A boy about his age sat near the stalls. He looked up when he heard the door close.

"Sup?" he asked.

"Hey man," Qian said. The boys high-fived and hugged. The other boy with silver hoop earrings sat back on the stool in front of the stall.

"What do you want from me?" he asked. Qian gave him a blank stare.

"I'm sorry?" he asked. His friend waved his hand in the air.

"You usually don't come to me like this," he said. "Given your family's status, it's understandable that you don't want to be seen with me. However, I sense some desperation from you. Talk to me. What do you want?" Qian gulped, shuffling his feet.

"Damn, you know me well, don't you? Okay, it's about Szu."

"Go on..."

The soccer player dropped back his shoulders, sighing. It hurt to say it again. "She was raped."

"No way!"

Qian pressed his lips together, nodding. He couldn't get that night out of his head even if he tried. He found Szu lying on the flood with her clothes a mess. Her expression looked so empty, but tears ran down her face. He raced over to her, calling her name. She begged him not to leave her side. Today, he said, "Yeah."

"And you are here because you can't go to the police, right?"

"No."

The friend with the black hoodie leaned in. "May I ask you why?"

"She thinks no one would believe her. Plus she didn't see his face."

"Does she remember anything about the guy who attacked her? Anything at all. Try to remember."

Qian dug in his brain to last night. He finally managed to get her alone once again. He found her crying on her bed.

"Szu?" he asked. The soccer player ran over to her bed. "Szu? What's the matter?" She glanced up at him before turning her head away. Qian lay down next to her.

"Please talk to me?" he asked. "I won't leave until you do." He tried to put his arm over her shoulder, but she shoved him off.

"Szu..." Qian whispered.

"I saw his rings," she sobbed.

He froze, looking. "What?"

"His rings."

"What about them?"

Szu gulped as she tried to fight off the memories of her attack. She could still feel him on her. "There was a snake on one of them."

"A snake? Where?"

"It was on his middle ring."

"Which hand?"

Szu tightly shut her eyes and broke down trembling. "Please stop, Qian. I just want to forget about it."

"You have to do this, Szu. I won't let up until you do." He grabbed onto her hand. "I don't want to hurt you like this, but you have to do this. I only want to help you." He still wouldn't give up after she began whimpering.

"Tell me!" Qian pleaded.

"It was right hand!" she cried. "That snake ring was on his right hand."

"And you're sure about that?"

"Yes!" Szu broke down crying. Qian stomach turned when it finally sank in. _No way... That can't be!_

"So, you think that this guy who raped your Szu is _that_ guy?" the friend asked back in the club bathroom.

"Yes," Qian said.

"But you are hoping to be wrong?"

"Yes!"

"So what would you like me to do?"

"Find out if what's she's saying is right or not."

"And then what?"

"Huh?"

"Say it is who you think it is. What will you do after you find it? You know you can't touch him or his family."

Qian frowned, rolling his eyes. "Yes, my clan keeps telling me that."

"And you still want to go through with this?"

"Fuck yes! He _has_ to pay for what he did to Szu!"

His DJ friend shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, but you know it will cost you." Qian threw 1,280.72 yuan down at his friend's feet. The other boy whistled.

"Wow!" he said before picking up the money and counting it. "Your clan really does have it made."

"Just get the son of a bitch," he muttered. His friend saluted with two fingers.

 

"Will do," he said. This exchange will push everyone further into the wasteland without anyone seeing it.


	10. Bride, Mother, and Money

Match Ten: Bride, Mother, and Money:

-Present Day-

-Ju-

I stood in the mirror in my mother's wedding dress. The red silk made me look older and pale. I'm amazed that it fits me. Mother was a tiny lady. I was worried that it would be tight around my breasts. The hem of the skirt could be taken up a bit. Bik sat in the corner, smiling.

"It looks great on you," she said.

"Thanks," I said, turning around. We looked up when we hear my door open. Hen-to stood with his jaw dropped the papers he was carrying scattered around his feet.

"Hen-to? What's wrong?" I asked. He covered his mouth, backing away.

"Daiyu?" Hen-to asked. Bik frowned at the expression his face. Her husband shook his head.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ju-furen," he said.

"Please don't call me that," I said. "It's still weird." Bik got and walked out of the room.

"Bik?" I asked as the door slammed shut. Hen-to buried his head in his hands.

"Shit," he mumbled. "I did it again."

"What?"

Hen-to lifted his head and sighed. "I didn't want to say it like this." He sat down on the floor. I tilted my head, pursing my lips.

My mother's wedding dress was folded up and put back in its box. I sat on the truck staring Hen-to down.

"Why did Bik look so upset just now?" I asked. Hen-to flopped back onto the floor.

"I was in love with your mother," he said.

"Okay… Why is that a problem?"

He turned his head with a look of despair. "I'm still in love with her."

I about feel off the trunk. "What?!"

"In the beginning it her, Fei, and I. We had a triangle between us." Hen-to began chuckling. "Fei and I used fight about who would marry your mother. We were the first real friends Daiyu ever had."

"So what happened?"

"Your father came along."

"Oh."

Hen-to sat up. "I had never seen your mother so happy before in my life. When Daiyu fell in love, she fell  _hard_.Granted, the boss was a good man. A little too up-tight for my taste, but still a good man. We were just…"

"Blind-sided?"

"Yeah." He broke down chuckling. "It's ironic, really. Fei and I ended working for our romantic rival. I don't know if it was his or her idea, though. Probably both of them thought of it together." Hen-to lay back down on my bedroom floor. "I do love Bik. She's one of the greatest things that happened to me. Fei can say the same thing about his wife too. But we can't get away from our first love." Hen-to put his arm over his eyes. "I lost your mother twice. The day she got married and the day she died." I didn't how to respond to this. I have hear the stories of the Hen-to-father-mother-Fei love rectangle before. But Hen-to still loved my mother? I thought he would've gotten over her by now. Was that why Bik stormed off like that? I was about to speak when my phone rang.

"Excuse me," I said. I flipped open my phone. "Hello?" It didn't take me long to bolt up standing. "You found where the money went?" I ran out of the room with my phone to my ear.


	11. Daphne

Match Eleven: Daphne:

-Years Earlier-

The couple from Maine adored their new daughter. She looked so cute washing in the tub. Her mother smiled as she washed the tree girl's hair.

"Flo, you are so pretty," she said. The little girl looked up, smiling. She still couldn't speak. Their daughter looked like a six-year-old girl with long bright red hair, but she acted like a newborn baby. On the first night of dinner, they tried to feed her food for adults. The child sat there with the food in her mouth. It donned on her parents that she didn't know how to chew. The seedling's father walked over to the cabinet and got out a jam of fresh mashed peaches. Through dinner, he fed Flo like a little baby.

For five weeks, the Maine couple washed, fed, dressed, and changed the seedling's diaper. They found themselves stressed, but their hearts were content to finally have a child of their own. The locals in town wished their blessings upon the new family.

"It's good luck to find and raise a tree spirit," the old woman at the fruit stall told the couple days after they found the child in the woods.

"A tree spirit?" the wife asked.

"Yes," the woman at the stall said. "They only appear every fifty years."

"Why is that?" the husband asked. The old woman shrugged her shoulders.

"Who knows?" she asked. "You will have good fortune because of that little girl. Take good care of her now."

"We will," the husband said. "She is our little girl, after all." Two years in and the family was doing well. In fact just last week, the little girl had just learned how to walk. Now as her mother gave her a morning bath, the father watched his wife and daughter content smile on his face. To him, the picture was almost perfect.  _Flo could use a little brother or sister or two._

-Present Day, Six Months Ago-

Alfred sat on Florence's bed as she slept through her illness. Despite Arthur's warnings, he still couldn't help but wonder if a relationship between himself and her could be possible. On the surface she looked completely human. He reached forward and touched her face. Three years and it still hurt to see her so sick like this. What made it worse was that each year that she survived could be her last. Alfred tried not to think about that every time September rolled around.

 _Maybe Art's right for a change._  Still, the lingering thought wouldn't leave his mind. Could a healthy and true love grow and thrive in the Wasteland waiting to burst and swallow the countries in a blanket of despair?


	12. Clan, Love, and Broken Up

Match Twelve: Clan, Love, and Broken Up:

 -Ju-

My eyes turned towards to Yao in bed. “Yao.”

“Yes?”

I puffed up my cheeks. “When did everything get so screwy?”

He pushed my bangs away from my forehead. “What exactly do you mean?”

“Everything. The money, that mess with Szu, the impending marriage.” I pressed my lips together. Yao patted me on the head.

“We’ve done well so far.”

I pushed away his hand. “Please don’t do that. I’m not a child.”

“I apologize.”

I rolled over onto my stomach. How did this all spiral out of my hands on my watch? The earlier years were much easier. My uncle wasn’t in the picture at the time. No, this started before he came along. My relationship with Yao caused me to be distracted. The night when Szu was raped he came over to my house and seduced with a new “game” that he wanted to try out. It didn’t take me long to fold under his charms. He tied me down, blindfolded me, and caressed mw with a feather.

I held my hand to my chest. All that time, Szu was being attacked. I was lost in my own pleasure while some pervert violated her in her own house, our home. To make it worse, I was too busy to help her recover and find justice. Because of my own problems, Qian took matters into his own hands. I shut my eyes, cursing myself. Why did I kiss Yao on that? How did it all come to this?

“Yao,” I spoke up.

“Yes?”

“Are we making a mistake?”

He lifted his head, eyebrow raised. “Why would you ask me that?” I opened my eyes, shaking my head. How could I tell me here what I was thinking? He would think I was childish and doubtful again. Or worse, I would probably break his heart. Yao may not look it, but he can be a sensitive guy. The other countries belittle him and Ivan scares him. Only with my father, Yao found the respect that he desired. In the beginning, he was rather doubtful of me. Over the recent years, our business partnership has become more stable. The personal side was chewing me up. I needed to break away from that part, but my own selfish desires keep preventing from saying the words. He rested his hand on my cheek.

“Talk to me,” he said. I bit on my lower lip.

“What do you think of us?” I asked.

“Excuse me?” he asked. I struggled to say it.

“I just don’t think…” My heart twisted in knots. I tried not to cry as I tried to spit it out. Yao pulled me into his arms. _Stop it. Why are you so good to me? You keep making it worse for me to save myself._ I pushed him away with tears in my eyes.

“Ju?” Yao asked.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I just can’t.” I leapt out of bed and ran into my bathroom. The running water from the faucet drowned out my sobbing. Why am I like this? I am the leader of the Liao clan. I am not supposed to be broken up like this over a man! Love doesn’t make someone pathetic and whiny. I wiped away my tears. I probably can’t do this alone. Still, I can’t be broken up like this. Something had to change. I stopped my crying and took in a deep breath. We will still get married as a failsafe for the clan. However, something has to change in order to reserve what little is left of myself.  I opened the bathroom door.

“Ju?” Yao asked in my bed. “Are you feeling okay? Were you crying?” I shuffled before putting on a brave face.

“Yao, we need to talk,” I said in a trembling voice.


	13. Akateko

Match Thirteen: Akateko:

Kiku hadn’t come out of his miserable funk even since his therapist died. Sena wasn’t going to have any of this anymore. One night, she turned to her husband in bed.

“Look,” she said. “I can’t have you like this. Talk to me. What’s wrong?” Kiku rolled over, pulling the sheets over his head. Sena frowned, puffing up her cheeks.

“Come on, now!” she complained. “You’ve been like this since you got out of the hospital four years ago! I can’t go on worrying about you like this! You have to tell me what’s wrong!” She expected him to turn her away, but to her surprise she could something when he started mumbling.

“What did you say?” she asked. She turned him to face her.

“Angels,” Kiku said.

“What about angels?”

“They… They are…?”

Sena tilted her head. “They are?” Kiku’s body became stiff. He moved his mouth, but no words came out. His wife grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

“Stay with me, Kiku!” she shouted. “You can do this!” His mouth began to move faster.

“Kiku!” Sena yelled.

He choked out the sentence, “They are suffering in Gomorrah!” The Japanese man collapsed after he spoke. Sena shook him and smacked him on the cheek.

“Kiku? Kiku?” she asked. His wife pressed two fingers into the side of his neck. _Good, he’s still alive._ The words “angels” and “they are suffering in Gomorrah” prompted her to jump out of their futon and boot up her laptop.

\--------

“Angels, suffering, Gomorrah,” Sena said as she typed it in the search box. The first batch of results didn’t give her much outside of a Biblical subtext. She shook her head as she scrolled downwards. _Christians have weird beliefs sometimes._ Her husband didn’t give her much to work with. Maybe she needed to get specific in her search?

Sena went to advance options and chose to filter out anything to do with the Bible. The results were cut down to fifty percent. Now she came to the good stuff. It started out with crackpot theories. The pages were something that would make 2-chan proud. Sena raised an eyebrow. _Fine, but good enough._ That’s when she came across one link that begged to be looked at.

“The Wasteland and Project Gomorrah?” she asked. Before she knew it, Sena clicked on the link. The image above the blood dripping title was a humanoid-like creature huddled on the ground, biting its bone-skinny fingers. It looked like it had been skinned alive. The grainy quality wasn’t enough to not make Sena cringe.

 _What the hell?_ She scrolled down at read through the table of contents. Before continuing on, Sena bookmarked the page. She began with the introduction.

“In the mid to late-80’s, a small group of doctors began experiments to bring the apocalypse,” Sena read. She snorted at the first sentence. _Bull!_ Still, she kept reading. “The project’s head, Kitano-sensei, set out to create what he called the wasteland. The project itself was split into three parts: angel, tadpole, and heaven. Details vary about what exactly happened or the end goal. Many of the doctors involved with the first version of Project Gomorrah kept their notes hidden from the public. Rumors circulated that the first Guinea pigs were mental patients with no families. The following is a collection of notes and photos from the actual experiments.” She clicked the next link.

The notes were broken down into sections titled the wasteland, angel, tadpole, and heaven. Sena remembered Kiku talking about angels and found herself drawn to click on the section for Project Angel. Across the top were links to the notes, gallery, and journals to the doctors in charge of said project. Against her better judgement, Sena clicked on the link for the gallery.

More pictures of skinned humanoids filled her screen. This time, they looked clear and in bright colors. Sena choked back vomit from so much red. Some of these creatures were covered in blood or chewing on unidentified meat. She didn’t want to take a guess what they were eating. The creatures open mouths seemed to be screaming. Some of the mouths missing teeth while others had rotting teeth. The more Sena looked at the picture, the more her stomach turned. Her brain couldn’t form any thoughts that could be described as the tip of the mountain of horrors.

\-------

Back in the bedroom, Kiku’s eyes widened as he gasped. His heart pounded in his chest as his body broke down in a seizure. His choking noises made Sena run into the room.

“Kiku?” she asked. “Baby?” His wife climbed on top, trying to keep him still as she phoned for help.

“119, what’s your emergency?” the operator asked.

“My husband is having a seizure or something!” Sena shouted. “Please hurry!”

“We will send an ambulance over to you right now!”

“Okay, thank you!” Sena turned her attention back to Kiku as foam began to form at his mouth. “Stay with me Kiku! Don’t you fucking die on me, you hear? Don’t you fucking die on me!” She used her pillow and their blanket to stuff it behind his head.

In the Kiku’s office, the laptop erased the history and shut itself down.


	14. Numb, Suffering, and Stain

Match Fourteen: Numb, Suffering, and Stain:

-Ju-

What is the worst feeling in the world? For me, it's not being able to feel anything at all. I had a period of feeling nothing during sex. It started the night Szu was raped. Yao dropped by at random. I had just finished washing the dishes when the doorbell rang. _Wha? Who's at my door at this time of night?_ I tilted my head and walked over to the door.

"Who is it?" I asked, peeking out the peep hole.

"It's only me," someone replied. My heart flipped at the sound. I rushed to open the door.

"Yao?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey," he said. I noticed that he was carrying a big bag by his side. When I noticed what looked like a riding crop sticking out, I raised an eyebrow.

"This is a lovely surprise."

"Are you alone?"

My lips curved into a smile as I giggled. "May I ask why?" He grabbed me by the waist and kissed me on the lips. _He's rather frisky tonight._ Yao pinned me up against the wall.

"Whew!" I said in between kisses. "What brings you by like this?" Yao looked me in the eye without hesitation.

"We're on a date tonight," he said. My eyes widened as I gulped.

"Wait, now?" I asked. I felt so small in his gaze. He took me at the chin.

"I have something I want to show you tonight," Yao said. I felt that I had to comply. He had this strange power to be so persuasive when he wanted to be. I gulped and lowered my eyes.

"Ah, don't be like that," Yao said. "I'll be really nice." Something about that sentence made my stomach turn.

\---------

Yao playfully tackled me back onto my bed. I sat up as he climbed off.

"I am going to get my kit," he told me. "Lay right there and don't move." Yao blew a kiss and left my room. I tried to understand what brought about this impromptu "date." He wasn't the time to use sex to get what he wanted. Yao looked like he was in a good mood at the front door.  _I wonder what happened to him today._ My eyes trailed upwards to my ceiling. I had many more questions to ask. That bag he brought with him looked so big. I looked when I heard my bedroom door close. Yao stood with his bag in his hand.

"Good," he said. "You stay right where I left you." He set down his bag and moved his hand as if to reach into the bag. "Take your clothes off." I reached for my sweater and slid it off.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Slower. Turn me on tonight." His hungry tone made chills go down my spine. I slowly rolled my plum sweater over my head. Yao smiled as I threw it to floor. We been sleeping together for two years and I still blush around him like I am doing right now.

"Go on," Yao said. I gulped and unzipped my black jeans. This exposed feeling jumped to high levels tonight. Yao picked up his bag and walked over to my bed.

"You really want to know what's in my bag, don't you?" he whispered in my ear. I pressed my lips together, nodding. Yao pulled back and unbuttoned his shirt.

"You'll find out," he said. Yao threw his shirt to the side. "You're still dressed."

"Huh?" I asked. He looked down at my jeans, bra, and panties.

"Oh," I said.

"You need to get on that."

"Right..." Almost unconsciously, I rolled down my jeans. To my surprise, I didn't feel like a little part of me was dying as he leaned forward and kissed me. I fell back as he began unhooking my bra. I could tell how excited he was against my thigh. Yao sat up with my bra in his hand.

"I think I will show you a little bit of what's in the bag," he said. Yao threw my brain to the floor and reached into his bag. My eyes widened as he pulled out a pair of black and gold handcuffs.

"Don't tell me you're going to..." I said with burning red cheeks. Yao chuckled as he moved my wrists to my metal headboard.

"Oh come on," he said. "This could be fun." He cuffed my wrists before I could argue.

"You could've at least used rope."

"Yeah, but this looks more entertaining." Somehow, that just didn't sound right. Yao tugged on my arms back and forth.

"There, there," he said. "Nice and secure." His hands moved down to my hips and yanked down my panties. "We probably should tie down your ankles too."

"What? You can't be serious." I squirmed as he pushed my thighs far apart. Yao had a serious expression on his face as he reached into the bag. With the rope in his hand, my ankles were tied down to the corners of my bed. He sat up, admiring his handiwork.

"Perfect," Yao said with a smirk. I lifted my head, raising an eyebrow.

"You're still dressed," I said.

"Patience," my boyfriend said. He took off his pants, making me blush. I swallowed back my drool as his boxers followed behind. My heart pounded as I tried to figure out what he was going to do next.

"Oh yeah!" he said, smacking his fist to his palm. "How could I forget?" Yao reached into his bag again and pulled out a black blindfold.

"Wait," I said. "Are you really going to--?" Yao wrapped the blindfold around my eyes and tied it into a tight knot.

"Now, it's perfect," he said. "We are going to play a little game." I opened my mouth.

"Don't ask questions, just listen," he spoke. "I am going to brush different things up against your skin while I pleasure you. No talking, you just lie there and enjoy yourself. Do you understand? Nod if you do." I nodded just as he said.

"Very good," Yao said. I had to admit, the feather felt good brushing against my stomach in a way that made me gasp. It took a little getting used to for the leather tip of the riding crop. At one point, I thought Yao was going to shove it into my pussy. (I have to admit, I almost wished that he would've done that. I probably would've had more orgasms from it.) Instead, he shoved himself inside of me and got right to pounding. I was so lost with the pleasure that I couldn't hear my cell phone ringing in my purse. I didn't think such pleasure Yao gave me could exist. I practically screamed loud enough to lose my voice.

Ironically when Yao freed me with the bindings, I came to a realization that frightened me. _Oh no, I... I... I can't feel anything._

\-------

For months, I couldn't feel much of anything when Yao and I slept together. Many times a night, I tried to run the reasons of why this was happening in my head. Boredom wasn't the problem in this case. I still loved Yao and wanted to sleep with him. I didn't know why and I couldn't bring myself to tell him. Up until now, I would act like everything was normal. Everything else was going well for me. I breezed through school, the clan was doing great, and my relationship with Yao grew. Other than Szu's rape and my uncle potentially trying to scam the clan out of its money, I believed that everything was fine.

Yao and I still go on stable enough. He treated like a princess when we weren't working. Our dates and his shower of affection made the blows to my soul softer and warmer. That would all change when Yao wanted to sleep with me. Sometimes, I would put it off with different excuses. The best one I could come up with was school-related. Sometimes, I would say that I was chasing down another lead about the money and my uncle. Other times, and I feel bad for saying this, I would use Szu to get out of sleeping with Yao. I didn't think I sounded so convincing, but he never asked questions. Part of me wanted to scream at him to get suspicious and ask more questions.

"I understand," Yao would say with a sad smile. "You have school and the clan to deal with." It hurt to hear him say that. Still, I couldn't tell him the real reason. How would he handle my loss of sexuality and the war within myself?

Other times, I had no choice but to suck it up and let me take me. I ended up lying there and taking it. He got off from the sex, but I felt nothing. The fact that Yao was too wrapped up in his own pleasure to notice my misery hurt me worse than any blow that my body could've dealt with. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't bring myself to fake it either. He probably could if I was faking it too. That could lead to him asking questions and I didn't have a ready-made answer. Plus, the news of Szu's rape made things much worse. I still couldn't get over the thought that she or Qian could've been calling me for help. (I still feel bad for not being there when they needed me most.)

After Yao would fall asleep, I would sneak into my bathroom and silently masturbate in a hopeless attempt to feeling something. I jerked myself until my wrist and fingers felt sore. Despite nothing happening and not feeling anything, I still pushed myself in hopes that I would return some feeling to my pussy. It ended up becoming a habit for close to three months. I didn't sink into me that this method wasn't working. I lay on the bathroom floor once I came to that realization. _What do I do now?_ Even with my secret research, I was running out of ideas. One night, I whipped myself with a dish rag in the kitchen. _Please don't be dead! Please don't be dead!_

"What's going on here?" I heard someone ask. I lifted my head to see Yao staring at me in the kitchen doorway.

"Ju, what are you doing?" he asked. I struggled to answer with the dishrag in my hand. I dropped it, breaking down sobbing. Yao ran over and held me in his arms.

"Shhh," he whispered. "It's okay. It's okay." I desperately wanted to believe him, I really did. How could everything be okay if he was the sole reason of why I was killing my soul in the first place?

\--------

-Present Day-

Things have gotten a little bit better. I still can't really feel anything during sex. I doubt it's a physical thing. Maybe it's a subconscious thing? I have too much on my mind with this wedding to think about.

I sat up on my bed when I noticed that stain on my wall against. It was then I remembered what it was and how it got there. Right after Stefan left my house, Yao and I got into a huge fight. He thought that I was cheating on him. I struggled to convince him other way. I don't exactly remember the details. Somehow, Yao went into my kitchen to make me some tea. When he gave me the cup, I got so mad that I threw it at the wall. The tea made this strange stain that looked rather phallic. (Heh, rather ironic given my situation.) I sighed and shook my head.

 

 _I probably should clean that off._ I slid off my bed and walked into my bathroom.


	15. Trauma

Match Fifteen: Trauma:

-December-

Szu hated herself. Her mask was slowly beginning to crumble. Her attacker first appeared in her nightmares. He would trap her just like he did that night and tackle her to down the floor. His hands like claws would tear at her shirt and rip up her skirt. Her screaming was muted as he violated her again and again. She never got to see his face, but his silver snake rings were enough to make her blood run cold. One thing she could count on was that the monster stayed in her nightmares.

Lately, he started to appear when she was alone. The more she kept details of her rape to herself, the worse the monster became. This morning in the girls' bathroom at school, Szu thought she saw a shadow creeping up behind her as she was washing her hands. She whipped around screaming. The shadow reached out to grab her by her shirt.

"No, go away!" she cried. "Please leave me alone!" Szu shielded herself with her arms. The shadow didn't stop trying to grab her. The images over grew more vivid. The fingers like claws grabbed at her blouse, trying to rip it open. Szu replayed the horrifying events of that again in her head. She couldn't escape those silver snake rings even if she tried. His rings haunted her nightmares.

 "Please don't hurt me!" she begged.

"Szu!" a girl's voice shouted. "Szu, it's okay! It's only me." Szu tried to fight her off as her classmate tried to calm her down.

"Stop it! Stop it!" she screamed. Her classmate finally grabbed her and pulled her into her arms.

"It's okay," she whispered, shushing her. "It's okay." Szu finally broke down crying. The poor girl ended up going to the guidance counsellor once she calmed down.

\--------

"You have to do something!" Hark pleaded with Ju. "It tears me up to see her like this!" Her clan leader rubbed her forehead.

"I understand your pain," she said.

"I don't think you do!"

"I do, actually!" Ju sighed. "Look, we don't have much to work with here. She didn't get a good look at her attacker's face and can't really tell us anything of what happened." Hark gritted her teeth.

"Then what do you call this?!" she shouted. She slammed down a piece of paper with a pencil drawing on it. Ju looked down and gasped. The picture depicted a hand with a silver ring of two snakes eating each other. She looked up at Hark.

"Is that...?" she asked.

"I'm hoping not!"

The clan leader sat back in a trembling sweat. "This is bad. This is _really_ bad."

"Yes, so what are you going to do about it?"

Ju gulped as she pressed her hand to her forehead. "I need a moment." Hark resisted screaming as she grabbed onto the desk. Right now, the clan's promises kept building up brick by brick.

\--------

Meanwhile, Qian was leaving school when his phone rang. When he sat the caller id, he looked around panicked and hurried behind a tree.

"I told you not to call me when I'm at school," he hissed.

"Aren't you out of school right now?" his DJ friend asked. The soccer player rolled his eyes.

"What do you want?"

"My buddy got the information that you wanted."

Qian felt his body go stiff. "Well?"

"You're right. It was him."

Qian gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "Zhong Junjie?"

"Yeah, man."

"You sure?"

"Yes. My source overheard him bragging about his sexual escapades to his friends. Szu was one of the girls he was talking about. I have the tape recording to prove it. Would you like to hear it?"

"No, that's fine."

"Okay."

The soccer player cursed himself under his breath. "Damn it!"

"So, what do you want to do?"

Qian bit on his lower lip. "I have to take revenge for what he did to Szu."

"You know you can't touch him because of his power and family."

"I don't care! I have to get revenge for Szu! I have to!"

His friend shushed him over the phone. "Alright, I understand. I can help you."

Qian frowned and narrowed his eyes. "Will I have to pay you for this too?"

"Nah, consider this one pro bono."

The soccer player raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Consider me being humble. Take it or leave it."

"What are you planning to do with Junjie?"

"Oh, I have a few ideas."

You wouldn't...?"

"Hey, you want to avenge your girlfriend, right?"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"You still want to avenge her, right?"

"Yes."

"Then let me do the work."

Qian sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, do what you want!"

 

"I will not let you down. We'll talk when it's done." He hung up before his secret friend could say another word. Qian lowered his phone to his chest. Despite knowing that it was too late to turn back, he felt himself regretting where this could go.


	16. Tanuki

Match Sixteen: Tanuki:

Alfred rushed straight to the hospital. He found Sena sitting in the waiting room, biting her nails. She looked up when she heard the footsteps.

"How is he?" Alfred asked. Sena looked down at her lap.

"He's stable," she said in low voice. Alfred sat down next to her.

"What exactly happened?"

Sena buried her head in her hands. "I was looking up something that he had told me and he had a seizure. Oh god!" Alfred rubbed on her back.

"It's okay," he whispered. She took in a deep breath.

I don't know how to deal with him anymore."

Alfred turned, giving her a strange look. "What do you mean?"

Sena lifted her head, looking at the ceiling. "It's rather hard to say."

"Why is that?"

Her eyes shifted towards him. "Stop asking me so many questions." She glared when he opened his mouth to speak. Alfred made the wise decision and closed his mouth. Sena sighed and closed her eyes. What she read last night made her skin crawl. What were those flesh-like looking monsters?

"Hey, Alfred?" she asked.

"Yeah?" the American man asked.

"Do you think there are human experiments still happen under our noses?"

Alfred narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Sena pulled her hands into her lap. "I saw something so disturbing last night." She turned her head with a serious look in her eyes. "I think that's what caused Kiku's seizure."

"What?"

She drew her knees to her chest. "Do you promise not to tell anyone about this until I have a better understanding of this myself?"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm serious here! Promise me!"

"Okay, okay. I won't say a word."

"Thank you." Sena pulled out her cell phone and pulled up a note that she had saved. "Last night, Kiku went into a panic attack and started saying weird things."

"Again?"

"Yeah, but this didn't feel right. He said, ‘Angels, suffering, Gomorrah.'"  Sena pressed her lips together as she paced herself. "Do the Wasteland and Project Gomorrah ring any bells to you?"

Alfred was about to say no, but somehow everything she said left a bad taste in his mouth. They brought back memories that would be in his best interest to keep buried in his head. It felt like this wasn't the first time that he had this conversation with Sena either. The American man wasn't sure if he should ask her his thoughts or not. Instead, Alfred said, "I'm not sure."

"I was about to look more into it, but Kiku had his seizure and we ended up here." She and Alfred looked at the hospital room door.

"You don't think...?" the American man began to ask.

"I just don't know what to think anymore," Sena said. "At the rate Kiku's sanity is going, I am afraid for him." Alfred turned his focus back on the Japanese woman.

"Do you want to hear something?" he asked.

"What?" she asked.

Alfred shifted in his seat. "I feel like you told me this before. Almost like we had this conversation before word for word, you know?" He expected her to give him a funny look, maybe a sign that he too might be going crazy. Instead, Sena gave him a blank stare as she struggled to say something. That alone told him all that he needed to know.

\-------

In his bed, Kiku was having another vision.

The first thing he could smell was bleach. He couldn't see anything yet, but he could hear footsteps walking behind him. Instead of feeling fear like he had been for the past four years, a familiar sense of ease washed over him as he smiled to himself.

 

"I was waiting for you to show up," he said. The footsteps stopped before the Japanese man turned around.


	17. Apple

Match Seventeen: Apple:

December 23rd, 2013.

At one in the morning, Alfred received a phone call.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Is this Alfred?" a woman's voice asked.

The American man sat up in bed. "Yes. Who is this?"

"My name is Ava."

"Okay... Why are you calling me at one in the morning?"

"Listen, I have to tell you something."

"What are you talking about?"

"Please listen!"

Alfred lowered his shoulders. "Okay, what do you want?"

"Your Florence will die soon."

He raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"The gates to the Wasteland have already open here in Ikebukuro."

"Huh?"

"I shouldn't be talking to like this over the phone. Can we meet via Skype at noon?"

Alfred turned and looked at the clock on his nightstand. "I guess..."

"Good, good. This is really important. I will e-mail you text you my address."

"Wait, what?"

 

"There, I sent it. We will talk later." Ava hung up before Alfred could ask any more questions. He looked at his phone, frowning. _What was all of that about?_ At noon, he would get more than he wanted to know. It all began with one e-mail...


	18. Ava

Match Eighteen: Ava:

December 23rd, 2013.

10:00 a.m.

Alfred stood in the park with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Three hours earlier, he received an e-mail from a Google account. He sat at his computer for the morning when the notice flashed on his desktop.

 _Hm? What's this?_ Alfred clicked on the notice and his e-mail popped up. The message title made his eyes widen.

"Ava?" he asked. Another popup appeared on is screen. This time, it was an invitation to chat on Skype. Without thinking, the American man clicked accept. A screen popped up and a revealed a woman with strawberry blonde hair. Alfred nearly jumped back in his chair.

"Whoa!" he said. "I didn't see you there."

"Are you Alfred Jones?" the woman on the other line asked.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

Ava reached her had to her chest. "Oh good, I'm so glad I caught you."

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you want from me?"

"I haven't properly introduced myself. My name is Ava Evans. I write a light novel series entitles _Wasteland 2011_. I think I might have told you this before."

Alfred gave her a puzzled look. "What?"

"I will explain to you at a later date. You have to listen closely to me when I say this. There is going to be a threat to the Liao clan and Honda-san tonight."

"Huh? What do you know about China's business partner and Japan?"

"I will make this as short and sweet as possible. The baby of the clan has turned to some shady people to avenge another member of the clan."

Alfred would've thought this lady was crazy if he hadn't remembered overhearing Ju complaining about how Szu's rapist was still at large. "Uh... how do you know all of this?"

"I wrote it out."

That sentence alone made his head spin. "I think I know you..."

Ava nodded once. "Yes?"

"You have a comic here in my backyard!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"That's good to know you are starting to remember me."

"So what about Kiku and Qian?"

"Qian is going to drag us all into the wasteland with his vengeance. He's about to have Szu's rapist attacked."

"So... why are you telling me all of this?" Alfred asked.

"It's too late to stop the revenge plan, but you can help Yao and Ju gain the upper hand in the aftermath."

The American man raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"I sent you the information you will need on Zhong Junjie. Ivan and Kiku also have the same files as well. I tried to send it to Yao and Ju, but their e-mails came back with a failure to send message."

"Can't you send it to everyone else in the clan?"

"I don't know their addresses. Ju's father wasn't exactly tech savvy. Just hurry or everyone here in Ikebukuro will be pushed into Tandeki drags further into the wasteland."

"What are you talking about?"

"I have to go. We will talk after Christmas."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Ava already hung. Alfred sat back in his chair, staring blankly at an empty screen. His poor brain nearly exploded as he tried to process what he had just learned through this Skype call from an unknown indie writer.

-Present Day-

"America?" he heard someone ask. Alfred looked down and saw Kiku looking him in the eye. He blinked as his suffering Japanese friend.

"What?" he asked. Kiku tilted his head.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" he asked. Alfred pressed his lips together as he handed over a large brown envelope.

"What can you tell me about what's inside?" he asked. Kiku's face went grim as he looked his America friend in the eye.

"She contacted you too, didn't she?"

"Yes."

Kiku looked down at his hands. "Could you take a walk with me?"

"Sure, I guess..."

 

"Follow me." Kiku led Alfred further into the park with his own envelope tucked in his heavy black coat.


	19. Winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Welcome to the Halloween special of Wasteland 2011! I went for broke on this one! Here are some quick notes to prevent confusion during reading:
> 
> Hetalia/Tea Leaves: Ju, Yao, Qian, Junjie, Gana, Snake, Szu, and Jia Long  
> Durarara/Wonderland: Mikado, Masaomi, Shirley, Chiharu, Noriko, Keiichi, Kurumi, Mairu, Mari and Aoba  
> D.Gray-Man/Dying Dream: Ophelia

Match Nineteen: Winter:

Ophelia could only see an endless sea of black. Her body float in the emptiness. The only thing company was the judgmental voices around her, screaming at her.

Slut!

Tart!

Whore!

 Murderer!

Whore!

Whore!

However below her, she heard different voices that did little to ease her nerves.

\--------

December 23rd, 2013.

Zhong Junjie sat in a noodle bar having a late dinner. Tonight was a rather slow night. For weeks, his father nagged him about getting married some.

"You are twenty-four years old!" his old man said. "You can't be fooling around and doing useless crap anymore! Get married and live up to the family name!" Junjie frowned and rolled his eyes. _Stupid old man!_ He stuck up his hand in the air.

"Oi!" he shouted. "I want a doggie bag!"

"Coming up!" the cook shouted back. Thinking about his father made Junjie lose his appetite. He didn't feel doing much anymore and he didn't want to go home either. The cook walked over to his table.

"Here you are," he said. Junjie paid for his dinner and walked out of the restaurant.

"Hey, Zhong," the cook spoke up. "What happened to that pretty little thing you were always with?" Junjie rolled his eyes and walked out the door.

\-------

\- Ikebukuro-

Shirley stood backstage of the main part of Red Bunny.  She waited with bated breath in her black suit. Keiichi went over the plan with her before she left the house.

"You sure you want to do this?" he asked at their apartment. "You can back out of it if you want." Shirley shook her head.

"I'll be fine," she assured him. "I can do this." Keiichi pressed his forehead against hers.

"Please be careful," he told her. Shirley nodded.

"I will," she said back. Sliver Dreamer waited for the MC to call her up on stage tonight.

\--------

Meanwhile, Mairu turned to her sister.

"Kurumi-chan!" she said. Her sister looked up from the TV. Mairu came within inches of her face, grinning.

"You know what we should do?" She didn't even wait for her twin to answer. "We should sleep with Aoba-kun. I bet he's virgin." Kurumi broke into a little smile. That alone told Mairu that she was keen on the plan.

"I'll call him," she said. The younger twin got on her phone and called up Aoba.

\--------

Mikado had his earbuds in as he lay on his futon. This would be the fifteenth time that he had heard these tapes. This time, he was looking for something in particular. Tape number sixty-four sounded low if you didn't know what you were looking for. Mikado tried to focus on through the muzzled silence on the tape.

"Untie me."

There it was. That small message, only two words, made Mikado sit up every time. He tried to figure out the identity of the speaker. From what Mikado could gather, this was probably a young woman tied up in Chou Mori Institution. She could be a potential victim in the Angel Project. He rewound the tape and took another listen.

"Untie me."

This one mystery was driving him crazy. It didn't help that he didn't have all of the tapes. His friends had some of the audio tapes just like he had some of their memory sticks and said tapes. He figured it was about time to another exchange to have a full picture of Chou Mori Institution and "Angel Tadpole Heaven".

\---------

-Beijing-

Outside of the noodle bar, Wang Jia Long stepped towards Junjie to ask him for directions. When he opened his mouth to speak, Junjie shoved his leftover dinner in the Hong Kong man's hand. Jia Long gave him a rather confused looked as the spoiled heir walked away.

Junjie continued his walk down the empty street. He didn't want to get home just yet, but he couldn't think of anywhere else to go. Thinking about his dad kill whatever good mood he had. Suddenly, a black van pulled up and stopped in the middle of the road. Four men in black climbed out and trailed the bratty heir.

"Oi!" their big, bald-headed leader shouted. They followed Junjie before he stopped and turned around. Just by the looks on the men's faces, he started to freak out. His first thought was that they were drug dealers coming to collect on the money that he had stiffed them over months ago.

"Gentlemen, lovely to see you," he said. "Anything I can do for you tonight?" The leader in the black hoodie walked closer. The spoiled heir gulped.

"The money is on its way, I promise," he said. "I just need to get some..." The men in black glared daggers. Right off the bat, Junjie saw that talking to them wasn't going to work. It got worse when the leader was inches away from him.

"No, no," the heir tried pleading with them. But the leader punched him right in the face. Once Junjie hit the ground, the other three men pounded him and began punching him. The heir struggled to escape as the men dragged him across the street.

\------

\- Ikebukuro-

Shirley walked out onto the glittered stage of the Red Rabbit. The plan was for her to be a decoy while Keiichi gathered evidence of the club's abuse and enslavement of the missing women are the city. She volunteered to do her part. Her potential boyfriend had reservations about this.

"I want to help you," Shirley insisted three days ago.

"It's too risky," Keiichi said. "I can't involve you with them any further."

She grabbed him by the arm. "I want to do this. Please?"

In the end, he finally let her help him out. Tonight, Shirley took a deep breath. _I will not fail you, Keiichi-kun._ She took the microphone and began to sing. The club rained red and green glitter as the cocktail waitress were sexy Santas. On the surface, everything looked normal. The girls served drinks, sat with the patrons, and flirted with them.

\---------

Meanwhile, Keiichi used his VIP pass to gain entry into the backway. Nanami, Shirley, and the other victims were counting on him to carry out Arisu's work and save them. He looked around in the hall. Hearing Shirley's sweet voice through the speakers gave him the courage to execute his plan. _I can do this_ , he thought. Keiichi reached into his bag and pulled out his equipment.

\---------

At the Orihara apartment, the twins were waiting by the door when it buzzed. Mairu opened the door.

"Hiya!" she said. Aoba blinked as he used her grinning like a cat and Kurumi smiling.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked.

"We just wanted to give you your Christmas present early," Mairu said.

"Okay... where is it?" Instead of an answer, the twins grabbed him by the wrists and pulled him inside. The door slammed shut behind him.

\---------

Back at Rampo Biotech, Mari sat at the main computer typing away in the basement. This super machine ran so hot that the room had to be kept below zero in temperature. Mari shivered as she typed out the latest code for the latest program. Her fingers were sore and numb as they moved across the laptop. She would've rather been home in bed instead of furthering her mother's twisted ambition on their project on unpaid overtime.

 _We can't keep doing this._ Too bad her mother, the boss, everyone else in Tandeki wouldn't listen.

\---------

-Beijing-

Szu was only fifteen years old. She had only met Junjie once. He asked her for directions to get to a certain bar that escapes his name at the time.

"Excuse me," he said. "Do you know how to get to this address?" He handed the girl a sheet of paper. Szu and her friends read over the sheet.

"I know where it is," she said. The girl tried her best to get him the right directions, but he only pretended to be listening.  He kept his eyes on her the whole time like he hadn't eaten in days. Her friends took baby steps backwards. Junjie had other things on his mind. Most of them involved Szu. He would just have to have her.

"Was that helpful?" Szu asked at last.

"Yeah, yeah," he said. "Thank you, so much." They bowed and parted ways. That wouldn't be the end of it, however.

He trailed her back to her house. It didn't matter if she wanted him or not. Junjie only saw her as the flavor for the night. To him, girls were just his toys to fuck. If they didn't want him, too bad! He was going to have her whether she wanted it or not.

\--------

\- Ikebukuro-

Shirley's voice had so much woeful soul in it tonight. The men had their eyes glued on her as they took their drinks. One of the cocktail waitresses sat with a patron as he pulled her in closer. He turned her face for a kiss.

In the mood of the song, Shirley began to dance. The colored lights spun around the room. She needed to go for broke with this performance for Keiichi. The goddess reached behind her head and unpinned her long light brown hair and shook it lose as the music began to rise. Shirley undid her tie and threw it aside. After flipping back her hair, her blazer and shirt hit the floor. Eyes were fixed unto her lacy black bra.

\--------

Chiharu sat at her laptop watching another video on the memory card. Like Mikado, she too was looking for something. In fact, it was Mikado who exchanged this card for five of the audio tapes she had in her box.

"I really think you need to see this," Mikado told her last night. Judging by the tone of his voice, this had to be urgent.

"Okay, thanks," Chiharu said. Once she was sure that she was home alone, the girl hit play on her laptop. On this clip, a woman about nineteen or twenty years sat on the floor chained to the wall by her ankle. Her rapid breathing made her sound animalistic. Nothing in her empty eyes suggested any trace of humanity. She was naked except for a collar around her neck.

A man in a white lab coat walked into the frame with a tape recorder in his hand. Chiharu raised an eyebrow. _What is this?_ The man reached down and pat the girl on the head.

"This is Day Forty-Seven of Project Angel," the man spoke into the recorder. "Subject F has grown more stable once we fed her the human remains of three failed test subjects. It seems that in order to survive, these angels need to consume human flesh. My team and I have not looked into why this is so yet." The man turned and lifted Subject F's head. Chiharu's jaw dropped.

 _Is that... me?_ She grabbed her phone and typed, "Mikado, what the hell did you just give me? Who is this girl in the clip?" Chiharu hit send. Against her better judgement, she resumed watching the rest of the clip.

\----------

Meanwhile, Noriko sat on her living room floor trapped in her own turmoil. Her memories felt scattered up in her head. She looked at her right arm. There used to be horizontal scars going down her arm. Noriko remembered cutting herself with the urge to die. They couldn't be false memories, felt too real.

Despite putting on an actress-worthy performance at school, her friends could tell this was happening again. She overheard Mikado and Masaomi talking last week at school.

"It's happening again," Mikado said in a hushed tone.

"Do you mean...?" Masaomi began to ask. He shook his head, frowning. "No..."

"Yes, I don't know how long before she begins to lose it again."

"Has she started...?" The blonde moved his right hand in back and forth motion above his left arm as if cutting himself.

"No, not yet."

"How can you tell?"

"I kind of looked at her arms when she rolled up her sleeves to clean the floor today. She's still eating too."

"That's good," Masaomi said. Hearing them say those things only confirmed what Noriko feared. _Even they know I'm not imagining it._

She drew her knees to her chest. Noriko lifted her head when she heard her cell phone ring. Her hand crept over and picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked in a trembling voice.

"Ishikawa-chan, are you okay? You sound worried about something?" Mikado asked. Noriko about fell backwards as she shook her head.

"Worried?" she asked. "No, no! I'm fine! Why would you say that?"

"Listen, we all need to talk. Can we meet at your place?"

"What for?"

"We'll talk when we get there." Mikado hung up before she could speak. Noriko's stomach turned as she stared at her phone. She hoped it would be that...

\---------

-Beijing-

The bald-headed leader, only known in the underground as Snake, punched Junjie on the ground. The heir's arms flailed about as the other three men punched him on the ground.

"Come on!" one of them yelled before stomping him in the face. Junjie tried to bite at one of the one guys as the held him down for the beating. He finally managed to break away and hold out his arms as if challenging them to fight. The spoiled heir punched one of Snake's goons in the face before running away. The men in black gave chase down the alley.

\---------

Later on that night, Szu put the key into the lock. He watched her from the bushes across in the Liao clan's garden. Ever since that brief encounter just last week, he watched her in his obsession. He timed everything down to their second encounter. Up to this point, no day felt right for him. Szu was never really alone. Tonight, her parents weren't home and her friends didn't accompany her. He licked his lips as he watched her open the door from inside.

_Perfect!_

Szu reached over to turn on the living room light. Before her fingers touched the switch, a heavy hand grabbed her onto her wrist. Another hand covered her mouth as she forced to the ground. Her eyes darted around in panic. She couldn't see Junjie's face.

"Please let me go!" she begged. "I can give you money, if you want." The big hand smacked her across her face. Junjie growled something to the effect of threating to have her friends murdered if she ever went to the police, but fear kept her from understanding what he was saying. Szu whimpered as he ripped open her blouse.

"Please let me go," she pleaded. "I won't tell anyone, I promise." His hand covered her mouth as he ripped off her pantyhose's. He pushed apart her thighs and broke her. Thrust after thrust tore her up inside as tears began streaming down her cheeks. He wanted her to know that he had her and loved it. Junjie broke her and ended it with a kiss. Szu lay there with wide, empty eyes and crushed soul. He smirked as his obsession was fulfilled.

"Good night," he hissed. Szu didn't move a muscle as she heard him walk out the door.

\---------

\- Ikebukuro-

Shirley fell back on the stage, crying out. As she got deeper into the song, tears streamed down her face as she writhed around in pain in her dancing. It felt as if someone was beating her up. During while, Keiichi worked to set up mini cameras around the secret rooms. He didn't slow down for a rest. The public had to know the truth.

 _You're doing good, Shirley. Keep it up, I'm just about done on my end._ Keiichi walked further down the hall.

\---------

Hentai made sex look so much easier. Mairu and Kurumi were learning this the hard way as they were looking up sexual positions for a three-way with two girls and a guy on the internet. Aoba sat on their naked and waiting. The twins were only in their panties.

"I can't find anything on here," Mairu complained.

"How about this one?" Kurumi asked, pointing to the screen. Mairu looked at the picture and frowned.

"My butt would be in his face," she complained. They would have all night to figure it out.

\--------

-Beijing-

Three months after Szu was assaulted, Qian took matters into his own hands when Ju and Yao were dragging their feet on the issue. He turned to his secret DJ friend, Gang, for help. Qian even went as far as to pay him 1,280.72 yuan for the job.

Gang took that money and added about 3158.20 yuan when he spoke with Snake in his garage. The secret hitman counted the money as Gang explained the problem.

"You in?" he asked at last. Because Snake despised Junjie just like everyone else did, he nodded. Gang smiled.

"One more thing," he said. "Don't get too happy. I don't want too much attention. My old man works in morgue."

"Yes, yes," Snake said.

\---------

Snake slammed Junjie against a brick wall in alley and punched a good ten times. He kneed the spoiled heir in the stomach before throwing him back on the ground. He stomped him right in the chest before him and his boys kicked punched him. Junjie tried in vain to shield himself as the beating grew more serve.

When they were done, the three goons ran off, but Snake stood over a beaten Junjie and smirked.

"That was for her!" he shouted. The hitman spat on the target before walking away. Junjie pulled himself onto his knees and broke down sobbing.

\---------

-Ikebukuro-

As the music got more intense, Shirley lay on the stage, screaming. At one point, her body jumped as if someone had stomped her in the chest. She rolled on the floor screaming. Somehow, the men in the audience enjoyed the show. When she rose to her feet, Shirley tore down the thin silver streamers behind her. At the end of the song, she sank down to her knees in tears. _How did I do, Keiichi-kun? Did I do great? Please praise me._

\---------

Keiichi installed the last camera in the main office. He stood back, smiling. _There, that should do it._ The journalist student turned on the cameras with his cell phone and walked out. He would pick up Shirley when the show was over.

\-------

When Mari was finished typing the code, she got up and walked out of the room. That should keep her group happy for the time being.

\-------

As Aoba and the twins slept from there threesome last night, Mikado and his friends met in the streets at sunrise. Nobody slept for the whole night.

\---------

-Beijing-

From one of the apartment buildings above, Gang watched the whole show. When it was over, he pulled out his phone and wrote, "It's done." He smirked as he hit send.

\---------

 

In the distance, someone was calling out to Ophelia.


	20. Mistrust

Match Twenty: Mistrust:

-Present Day-

Lately, Bik had been cold towards her husband. She would ignore him and not do anything nice. His shirts were wrinkled. Bik would delete or withhold important messages from him. The nurse stopped making him dinner.

"Dear?" Hen-to would ask. "Where's dinner?" Bik ignored him in the kitchen.

"Honey?" he asked. The nurse walked past him. Hen-to turned around, eyebrow raised.

"Sweetie, did I do something to offend you?" he asked. Bik put up her middle finger as she went upstairs. Hen-to tilted is head with a confused look on his face.  _What was all of that about?_

For days, Bik kept up with her passive-aggressive campaign against her husband. Hen-to gritted his teeth as this game wore on his nerves. On Sunday afternoon, he came home early from a meeting to find Bik pulling out fresh mooncakes from the oven. She broke into a huge smile when she saw him.

"Hi, babe!" Bik cheered. Hen-to raised an eyebrow.

"What is all of this?" he asked, looking at the kitchen.

"I made you a little treat," his wife said, handing him the baking pan of mooncakes.

"What did you put in these?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to make something yummy for the husband that I love."

"Funny, you've been acting so cold towards me. I wonder why."

The nurse shrugged. "I got over it."

Her husband didn't buy it. "Is that right?"

"Yes!" Bik said, nodding. "Don't you trust me?" That alone became a red flag, but he still needed a way to test her. Hen-to was about to open his mouth when the front door opened. The couple looked up and saw Chih walking in.

"Uh... am I interrupting anything?" he asked.

"No, honey," Bik said. "Do you forget something?"

"Uh... yeah. I left my case notes in my room," their adopted son said. Hen-to grabbed a mooncake and headed it to Chih.

"Mama just made mooncakes," he said. "Would you like one?" Their son shrugged.

"Alright," he said. Bik's eyes widened as he picked up a cake.

"No!" she shouted. "No, no! Those are for your father."

"I don't mind sharing," Hen-to said. "Useless Mama put something in them that she doesn't want you to eat." Chih held the cake to his mouth. The nurse sighed, dropping her shoulders.

"Fine," she said. "I put in herbs to cause some food poisoning-induced diarrhea."

"I knew it!" Hen-to shouted.

"You guys are weird," Chih said before setting down the mooncake and heading to his room. Hen-to turned back to his wife.

"Why would you do that?" he asked. Bik gritted her teeth.

"Do you still love me?" she asked.

"Of course I do!"

"Who do you love more-me or Daiyu?"

Hen-to looked so confused. "What are you talking about?"

Tears formed in the nurse's eyes. "I heard you talking to Ju when she was trying on Daiyu's wedding dress. You're still in love with Daiyu, aren't you?"

"She was my first love."

"And when were you going to tell me this?"

"When would've been a good time to tell you? When we got married? When you got pregnant? When Biao took his first steps? When Chih came into our lives? When the boys graduated from high school? Daiyu is dead! I love you. I've moved on. You said yourself, you wouldn't compete with a ghost. You have me and we will stay together until we die!"

Bik dropped the baking pan and cried. "I'm so sorry." Hen-to hugged his wife and sighed.

 

"What am I going to do with you, woman?" he asked.


	21. Sexuality, Martyr, and Madness

Match Twenty-One: Sexuality, Martyr, and Madness:

-Ju-

I lay in my bed, frowning. The second coming could be happening right now and Yao would sleep right through it. Heh, lucky bastard. Me on the other hand? I couldn't sleep this morning on our day off. I still have that issue... down there. Keeping it a secret just seemed pretty stupid at this point. The only thing I have to justify for that is that I was too busy with this clan's financial troubles and the whole Szu rape mess. I probably should've dealt with my personal problems before it came to this point. Looks like I'll have to do it today. I climbed out of my bed and got dressed. Yao will probably be sleeping when I get back.

\------------

I knocked on the Chang family door. Part of me wished that Bik would be home alone this morning. (I am no good with talking about girly issues with Hen-to, Biao, and Chih listening in.) I didn't know why I was in a rush this morning. This wasn't a big issue, right? I mean, it is possible to lose sexuality, isn't it? Bik will understand me. After all, she's pretty much a mother to me. She could help me out. I backed up with the front door opened.

"Ju?" she asked. "What are you doing up so early? I thought you had the day off today."

"Are you alone today?" I asked, whispering. The expression on her face changed to a rather curious one.

"Is something the matter?" she asked. I pressed my fingers together.

"It's a delicate matter."

"Come inside." Bik led me into her house. I sat down at the kitchen table as she fixed me black tea.

"Here," she said. I waved her off as I shook my head.

"You sure?" Bik asked, eyebrow raised.

"I just came here to ask a really personal question."

"Okay." She sat down across from me. "What's the problem?"

I pressed my lips together. "Is it possible to become sexually numb for a period of time?"

"Huh?"

It stung to tell the story for the first time. "Yao came over on the night that Szu was raped and we..."

"Had sex?"

"Yes."

"So what happened?"

"He blindfolded me and tied me down. Then we did it after some teasing." I didn't spare her the details. Bik was a nurse with a wide range of medial training. Lying would not help me. She would probably find out the truth anyway. I drew in a deep breath.

"Take your time if you need to dear," Bik said as she rested her hand on mine. For some reason, her touch gave me a little comfort to keep talking.

"Thank you," I said. "After all of that sex, I just couldn't feel anything."

"What happened?" Bik asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know. I've been numb down there like this since November. A little feeling came back, but I can't enjoy sex like I used to." I ran my finger around in circles on the wooden table. "It doesn't even feel good when I stick my fingers inside."

"And you don't know why this is happening?"

"No."

"Have you had any vaginal injuries prior to the night that you and Yao had sex?"

"Not that I can remember."

"Are you regular with your periods?"

"Yes."

"Think it's psychological?"

"That's what I'm starting to believe." I looked her in the eye. "I'm just wondering if this sort of thing is normal."

Bik shoved the cup of tea in my direction. "It happens, but it can be fixed."

"It can?" That should've been good news, but my tone made my words come out dry. Did I really want my sexuality back? Bik rose to her feet.

"Finish your tea and just for safe measure, I will take you by my clinic to have you examined to rule out anything physical," she said. Part of me knew that it would come to this, but I had to know how to fix my predicament. I nodded and picked up the cup.

"Alright," I said. I took a sip of the tea and winced. I probably should have told her I don't like it bitter.

\----------

Along with my loss of sexuality, I have this reoccurring dream after numb sex. I am a bright blue butterfly flying in the darkness. Only, I don't really seem to be flying as so much drifting through the air. There is no destination in mind. I just float along in the darkness.

Suddenly, thin thread attaches itself to my left wing. This doesn't really bother me because I can still float around freely. Another thread attaches itself to my right wing. This doesn't slow me down until more threads latch onto me. By this time, I struggle to keep my balance as I am getting stuck. The bright blue in my wings begin to dull as the threads cover them. It doesn't take me long to try and struggle free of these sticky threads. When I finally manage to do so, it proves to be my undoing. My wings end up being pulled off and I drift further into the darkness until what's left of my body falls on the ground.

I don't understand why I keep having this dream. Could it be because of my relationship with Yao? Maybe I would have my answer tonight.

\---------

Tonight, I was on top of Yao in my bed. He looked like he wanted to eat me up. This night, I couldn't take this game of pretend anymore. I couldn't say exactly why this happened next.

"Yao," I said as I started to ride him.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Could you hit me?"

He gave me an odd look. "What?"

"Please, slap me."

"No."

My heart sank in my chest. "Do you love me?"

"Of course I do," Yao said.

I pressed my lips together. "Then hit me hard as you can. Please! Prove that you love me!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't," Yao said. His words felt worse than any stab in my chest. I leapt off of him and ran out of the room.

"Ju!" he yelled as I raced out of my house. That time in that run to my garden vanished in a blur. Before I knew it, I was lying on my back, fingering myself. Yao grabbed me by the shoulders and slapped me in the face. The force enlightened a chilling thrill in my body.

 

"Yes! Hit me again!" I shouted. I lost track of how many times he hit me before entering me again. It felt like drowning with each pound. I wasn't should what I felt between my legs, but I could've sworn that the tree we were under sprouted pale arms with spots of blood at Yao's climax. I slept the smile of Ophelia on my face.


	22. Family Crisis (1/2)

Match Twenty-Two: Family Crisis (1/2):

December 27th, 2013.

The police looked for the men who assaulted Junjie two days before Christmas. The spoiled heir was found by two officer workers on their way home from a long night at work. They got him to the nearest hospital. By the next morning, the mother called the police when their son didn't come home the night before. They were used to him staying out all night, but something didn't feel right to his mother.

"Honey," she said at breakfast. "I think we should call the police." The big boss man glanced up from his newspaper.

"Why?" he asked. "He'll wander back in when he gets hungry." Zhong's wife's hand trembled in her lap.

"Please?" she asked. "What if he's hurt and in trouble?" As if on cue, the phone rang. One of the maids walked into the dining room.

"Sir," she said. "It's for you. It's the police." Zhong sighed and rolled his eyes.

"What the hell did that boy do?" he muttered under his breath. The boss man held out his hand. "Hand it here!"

"Yes, sir," the maid said. Zhong yanked the phone out of her hand.

"Hello?" he asked. The call didn't last long. Zhong rose to his feet. "Honey! We're going down to the hospital!" All of the color drained from his wife's face.

"No..." she said. Her husband muttered something bitter under his breath.

\---------

The police asked around any possible witnesses. Not many people saw the attack that night. All clues lead nowhere. Junjie couldn't tell them much about the guys who attacked him either. Everyone who knew had a good guess of why he was reluctant to talk to the police. His father gritted his teeth.

"What the fuck did you do now?" his father asked.

"Nothing!" Junjie wailed.

"Don't lie to me, boy!"

"I'm not, I swear!"

His father's face burned tomato red. "You!"

"Honey, please!" his wife screamed. Zhong sat back down, nostrils, flaring. He muttered something nasty under his breath. Junjie and his mother pretended to not to hear him.

\-------

The police asked around in the underbelly of Beijing. Again, no one could answer their questions. In fact, some of the party animals were happy that Junjie got his ass handed to him by a group of thugs.

"He was an asshole."

"That bastard owed me money."

"Zhong stole my girlfriend."

"Can we bow down to the guys who did it?"

The police could only nervously chuckle at how much these shady "ladies" and "gentlemen" hated the spoiled heir. Some of them even agreed with the underbelly. Would they have their man soon?

Please soon, they got an anonymous tip.

"Hello?" the police chief asked in the middle of the night.

"I know who beat up Zhong's son," a small voice whispered. At first, the chief rolled his eyes.

"What is it?" he asked.

"He was beaten up over a girl who he raped back in October."

"So, what? Many girls claim that he raped them. It's usually just a way to shake for money."

"This girl is different."

"Oh, how so?"

"She was a girl from a powerful clan."

The police chief sat up at his desk, all ears. "Go on..." The anonymous caller then proceeded to tell the story of Szu's attack, the planning, and the brutal beatings. Only, there were no names or particular ideas mentioned. Still, it was enough for the police to connect the dots.

 

This was the beginning of Zhong Junjie's downfall.


	23. Family Crisis (2/2)

Match Twenty-Three: Family Crisis (2/2):

“It’s done.” Qian sneered at the text message. Sure, he got his revenge, but this wasn’t over yet. The Zhong family would do everything in their power to ruin anyone that hurt their precious prince. That was why many of his victims didn’t go to the police. Qian knew the risks going into this plan. He held the phone to his chest.

 _I am so sorry._ He still had to do it. Maybe this will be one less thing for Ju and Yao to think about. Qian still back on his bed. Still, he waited for the fallout to hit.

\--------

2:00 a.m.

Gang walked into the bathroom of an underground club. He paced around as the other line rang.

“Hello?” a raspy voice asked.

“Hey, Snake,” Gang said.

“What’s up?”

“Listen, you remember that job I had you do a couple nights ago?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, one of my friends said that the police have started asking questions.”

“Okay, so?”

“This is just my opinion, but I think you should make yourself scarce for a while.”

“Yeah, yeah. The crew are already back in Taiwan by now.”

“And what about you?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Snake hung up the phone. Gang looked his burner. _That takes care of that._ He smashed up the phone and took the chip with him.

“It was a shitty phone anyway,” he muttered before walking away.

\--------

One of Junjie’s former girlfriends could take it anymore. For too long, she had turned a blind eye.

For many years, she had been tormented with the crimes her ex committed against her. The cheating and the rape pushed her over the edge. Every time there was another girl edged up being another victim of his, her stomach turned. Junjie was persistent with the ladies. That was how he won her over in the first place.

Initially, she found it oddly charming. She was tired of men being indecisive and weak. She hoped that to find a real man. Unbeknownst to her, she would find it in the spoiled mob prince. At first, she wasn’t interested. The ex-girlfriend thought that he was too pretentious and conceited. He bragged that he could have any girl that he wanted. She brushed him off, thinking that that was the end of that.

For five months, Junjie pursued this woman. He showed up at her private school, house, and even her job. The spoiled prince tried to shower her with gifts and flowers. At one point, she found it quite uncomfortable. Her friends suggested that she file a harassment suit. Against her better judgment, she refused. One day, she confronted him with tone of a raging dragon. Impressed, he asked her out on the spot. She couldn’t describe exactly what happened, but the next thing she knew, they had started dating. By the end of the year, they became a couple.

That wasn’t enough for him. Despite having a cute girlfriend, Junjie continued his skirt-chasing. He even used force to have the girls that he wanted. Due to the power of his family, nobody dared to press charges. His parents sometimes bribed the girls’ families to not go to the police. Junjie’s girlfriend did her best to turn a blind. However, for the past three years, it began to eat away at her. The case with Szu was the final straw.

“You are the worst person in the world!” she screamed after she heard him bragging about his night with Szu to his buddies. Naturally, her then-boyfriend saw nothing wrong with it.

“What?” he asked, shrugging in her apartment. “She was asking for it.”

“She was only fifteen years old!”

“And?”

That attitude sent her over the edge. “Get out! We are over!”

Junjie shook his head. “No we’re not.”

“Yes, we are! Now get out or I’ll call the police to have you thrown out!”

Junjie put up his hands as he stood up. “Okay, okay. I’m leaving.” He backed up to the door. His now-ex girlfriend glared at him as he left her apartment.

When news got out about Junjie being beaten up two days before Christmas, the ex-girlfriend knew this was the time to take revenge. She made an anonymous call to the cops.

\---------

The police gathered more evidence. That tip was the push that they needed to get the party animals in a buzz. They wondered if it was true that Junjie had raped a girl from the Liao clan. Meanwhile, Gang for the cops to circle towards him. He already had his answers ready to go. Snake and his men were long gone before New Year’s Eve. The question remained, who would point the cops in his direction.

Tonight, he got his answer.

After his gag, Gang stepped outside to make a call on his new cell phone. He had just hung up when the police approached him. He broke into a polite smile.

“Officers,” he said. “Nice evening we’re having.”

“Are you Yin Gang?” one of the cops asked.

“Yes,” the young DJ said in a calm voice. “Is there a problem? Have I done anything wrong?”

“You tell us,” the cop said.

“We would just like to ask you a couple about the assault of Zhong Junjie,” his partner said.

“Yes sir,” Gang said like a proper gentleman.

\---------

-New Year’s Eve-

The police arrived at the Sun house. Man answered the door with her apron on.

“Yes?” she asked.

“We are the police and we are investigating the attack on Zhong Junjie,” the officer said. “Is your son in?”

“Why? What does this have to do with him?” Man asked. At that time, Qian picked the worst time to come down stairs. He froze when he saw the police at his door talking to his mom. _Oh shit!_

The atomic crashed down at ground zero.


	24. Irish Yew

Match Twenty-Four: Irish Yew:

-Present Day-

The spring is back and Florence started looking healthy again. The more Alfred watched her, the more had couldn't help but wonder about a possible relationship with her. Could a human and a tree spirit be that close?

"Hey, Florence," he said as she was planting her garden again.

"Hm?" she asked. Alfred hadn't thought out his question fully. His brash way of getting information wouldn't come out when he really wanted it to. Florence turned around with the trowel in her hand.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Have you ever had a boyfriend?" Alfred asked. Florence tilted her head.

"A boyfriend?" she asked.

He shrugged. "You know, a lover? Someone that you cuddle with and kiss."

"No."

"Have you ever had a crush on anyone?"

"A crush?"

"Have you even liked anyone- like really liked someone?"

"No."

The American man frowned. "Really?"

"That's right. It's just been Lydia and I."

"Damn." It almost felt criminal to try and make a move. _Maybe I can ease inti it?_ "Can you date anyone?"

"Why?"

"I'm just wondering. I mean you're a tree spirit and I  am a country. Is it even possible?"

Florence thought about his question. "I guess it could be possible. I never tried it myself."

"Why not?"

"I never really thought about it myself."

"Well, do you find anyone attractive?"

"I haven't really noticed."

"Do you like men or women?"

"Men, I suppose."

Alfred grinned and pumped his fist. _Yes!_ "What type of guy would you like?"

"What type of guy would I like?"

"Yes."

Florence rose to her feet.  "Hm, let me see..."

"What are you two talking about?" a girl's voice asked. Alfred and Florence looked up to see Lydia leaning against the gate. She held two full bags of groceries in her arms.

"We were talking about what type of guy that I liked," her sister said. Alfred whipped his head around with big eyes. Lydia pressed her hand to her forehead.

"Al, what are you up to now?" she asked. Alfred gave her a strange look.

"Al?" he asked. "Since when do you call me that?"

"Never mind that," the teenaged girl said. "Why are you trying to hit on my sister?" The American man pretended to look hurt by such a question.

"I don't know what you are talking about," he lied. "I was just asking her some harmless questions to get to know her better." The younger sister glared at him, frowning.

"If you're trying to pull something here, I'll..."

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "You'll do what?"

Lydia clutched the brown paper bags in her arms. "I will make you pay for it!"

He put his hands on his hips. "How?"

"I just will!"

"Guys," Florence cut in, waving her trowel in the air. "Please don't fight, it's a nice day."

"We're not fighting," Alfred said.

"Yeah, nobody's fighting," Lydia said. Her sister turned her attention to their friend.

"Are you staying with us for dinner?" she asked.

"Sure," Alfred said. "I don't mind." Lydia puffed up her cheeks and frowned. By now, the American man had gotten used to eating vegetable-only type of meals with the girls at their house.

 

Alfred still didn't have his answer for how a relationship between him and Florence would work out. Not to worry. There was still dinner to try again. Sure, Lydia would be at the table to shut him up, but he would try to talk over her, anyway. Even if he didn't get an answer today, Alfred would get probably of times to try and pursue a relationship with Florence. After all, they weren't playing beat the clock, right?


	25. Hell

Match Twenty-Five: Hell:

He drifts in and out in his hospital bed. Kiku could see hell. Not just one, but many others. The Japanese man felt like Dante looking into different Hells. He shivered as he walked down the darkened path. _How do I get home?_ The wails of misery made him want to vomit. Kiku couldn't enter his own Hell.

The sound of giggling made him freeze. Kiku turned and found a woman sitting on a hill of books.

"You look lost," she said. The Japanese man stared at her long, pale legs.

"Who are you?" he asked. The woman flipped back her long dark red hair.

"I have no name," she said. Her gray eyes focused on him. "And what about you?"

"I am Japan," he said. Something in his heart and head told him to keep his distance. He couldn't see mystical creatures like Arthur, but that didn't stop him from sensing sinister about this nameless woman. She held out a graceful hand.

"Oh, don't be like that," she said. "There would be no point in killing you." Kiku took a step back as he gulped. The woman lowered her hand.

"Never mind," she said. "Judging by the look on your face. I believe that you have some questions to ask." The woman moved her skinny arms behind her head. "Go ahead ask. I doubt I will answer all them or not." Kiku tried to dig for something in his brain for something to push out of his mouth.

"Am I in Hell?" he asked.

"No," she said. "You're in the space between many Hells. Why you aren't in your own, because you aren't really traumatized."

Kiku narrowed his eyes. "Then why am I--?"

"Feeling the suffering in your heart?" She leaned forward with a smile on round face. "The people of Ikebukuro's pain flows through you." The woman pressed her hands on Kiku's cheeks. "You know how this is possible. You are Japan, after all. When people in your country suffer, it flows through you."

He drew his mouth closed. She spoke the truth. Even in his old age, he couldn't escape the suffering of his people. But...

"What's going on in Ikebukuro?" Kiku asked. The woman rested her hand to her rounded breasts.

"I am being set free," she said. "He is finally fulfilling his promise to me."

"What are you talking about? Who is trying to free you? How are you here talking to me? Where are you?"

The nameless woman in her long red strapless dress pressed a skinny finger to the Japanese man's lips. "One question at a time, my dear paramour." Her eyes stabbed him in the soul with a hard look. He felt so small in front of her. The woman pulled back her finger.

"Which one would you like to ask me first?" she asked. Kiku's eyes shifted left and right.

"Where are you?" he asked. "Your body, I mean." The nameless woman slid off the hill of books.

"The Land of the Dead," she said without missing a beat. Kiku felt like he was going to faint. The woman raised an eyebrow at the queasy color on his face.

"Don't you worry," she said. "I am not a shinigami or a demon."

"Then... what are you?"

Her blood red lips curved into a cat-like smile. "I am me."

Kiku felt his mouth turning dry. "How are you here in front of me?"

"I have accumulated enough power to project myself within different Hells. Thanks to all of the misery and souls that I have consumed from Ikebukuro, I can move pieces of my energy to wherever I please."

"How did you get locked away or why?"

"Such a story will make your head spin."

"So who is trying to free you?"

She flipped back her hair again. "Let's just say he's an odd child who is fulfilling a promise he made with me years ago."

"Do I know him?"

The woman reached from and caressed his cheek. "You will, my dear pet." Kiku shook his head as his eyes grew wide.

"But I don't understand you," he said.

"What don't you understand?" she asked.

"Why me? Why do you come to me? Why am I having all of this pain? Why would you leave me alone?"

Her lips came within inches of his. "Because, something glorious is about to happen and you are the centerpiece along with Ikebukuro." With one kiss on his lips, Kiku awoke in his hospital bed, panting. A nurse that was walking into his room to check on him began screaming for the doctor. Everything sounded like it was underwater around him. He moved his fingers to her lips as he remembered the nameless woman's words.

 

"Something glorious is about to happen and you are the centerpiece along with Ikebukuro."


	26. Police and Uncle

Match Twenty-Six: Police and Uncle:

-New Year's Day-

Qian awoke to someone knocking on his bedroom door. The boy lifted his head, still half-asleep.

"Yes?" he mumbled.

"Beijing, police!" a deep male's voice shouted. "Open up! We have a few questions to ask." The boy lifted his head, still half-daze.

"Wha?" he asked. The boy climbed out of bed and wandered over to his door. "What did you say?" The badge alone was enough to wake him up. Two police officers stared him down. Qian blinked.

"Oh," he said. Even as he was just waking up, Qian didn't panic. Gang talked to him about this moment on Christmas Eve.

"Do not act guilty," he said. "You'll give yourself away."

Today, Qian rubbed the back of his head. "Can I get dressed first?"

"Sure, but it quick," the cop said. The boy drew his door closed and threw on some clothes. Seconds later, he joined the police in the hall.

\-------

Qian and the police walked into the living room and found the rest of the clan sitting around. Their judgmental eyes made his stomach drop. Still, he had to keep up his brave front.

"Please take a seat," Ju said. Qian kept his stoic face as he sat down to his mother and step-father.

"We just want to ask you a couple questions about the assault of Zhong Junjie," the police said. "This won't take long, depending on you." Szu flinched at the sound that name.

"What about him?" Qian asked.

"He was violently assaulted two nights before Christmas," the officer explained. "We believe that he might have attacked because he raped the wrong girl." Szu felt herself break down into trembling. Her father rubbed her on the shoulder, whispering in her ear.

"Is something wrong?" the officer's partner asked. Hark lifted his head.

"She's just upset," he said in a low voice. The police already knew the reason why. The main cop cleared his throat. Ju raised an eyebrow.

"And you believe this rape and revenge beating is tied to us?" she asked.

"That is correct," the main cop said. "The question is, which one of you girls was the victim?" Szu pressed her lips together before she mumbled something under her breath. Unfortunately, the partner caught it.

"Excuse me?" he asked. Szu lifted her head with tears in her eyes.

"Me," she said. Qian turned his head, blind-sided.

"Szu," he said.

"I don't want you to go to prison because of me!" she wailed.

"Qian, what is she talking about?" Ju asked. The youngest clan member clenched his fists in his lap.

"It's not like that," he said through gritted teeth.

"Then tell us what it's like," the main cop said. Qian whipped his head around.

"I was so angry that nobody was helping Szu," he confessed. "So I complained to a friend about my problems."

"Did you hire anybody to assault to Zhong?" the main cop said.

"No," Qian said. "My friend just said he would find out who it was and that's all that happened."

"Are you sure that's all that happened?"

"Yes. I didn't ask for him to get beat up like that. I just wanted to know who raped Szu because nobody was doing anything to help her."

Ju gritted her teeth. She rose to her feet and slapped Qian in the face.

"Do you realize what you have done?!" she shouted. You have thrown our clan into the crosshairs. You're lucky that my father was on good terms with Zhong's father! We are already struggling with money in this clan! We don't need more scandals!"

"Is my son going to prison?" Lili asked. The police were about to speak when they heard someone ask, "Oh, did I come at a bad time?" Everyone turned their heads to see Ju's uncle, Jianjun. He stood in the doorway dressed in a fancy suit. Fei and Hen-to glared at him.

 

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Hen-to hissed through gritted teeth.


	27. Downfall

Match Twenty-Seven: Downfall:

January fifth, 2014.

10:00 a.m.

Ju knocked on the Zhong House door. Yao squeezed her hand as she took a deep breath.

"Are you sure Ivan is right about this?" she asked. Her lover held the folder under his arm.

"Yes," Yao insisted. "I went over the information myself last night." Ju squeezed his hand back.

"And this will help Qian, Szu, and the rest of the clan?" she asked.

"I am positive a hundred and ten percent," he said. Ju smiled despite still being uneasy. Her mood changed when the door opened. Zhong poked his head outside.

"What do you want?" he hissed.

"I am the leader of the Liao clan," Ju said as polite as she could. "I am here to talk about the matter with your son." At first, the older man strained to get a better look at the slender woman standing before him.

"Liao?" he asked.

"That's right," Ju said.

"Khai's daughter?"

"Yes, sir." She and Yao waited for a negative respond or no real reaction at all. To their shock, Zhong broke into a huge grin and opened the door.

"Welcome!" he said. "I have been expecting you!" Ju gave him a puzzled look. She had come prepared to fight a potentially long war with one of her father's close allies. This warm 180 threw her back.

"Well, what are you standing out there for?" Zhong asked. "Come inside!" Ju turned to an equally stunned Yao. The best thing they could do was be on their guard as they walked into the big Zhong House.

-Three Days Earlier-

Ju slumped back at her desk. Her uncle's appearance made the situation even worse. It took her, Yao, Hen-to, Fei, and Man to convince the police that Qian didn't order an assault on Junjie. As of right now, she had two problems to clear up.

Ju lifted her head when she heard a knock on her door.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Is this a bad time?" she heard Bik on the other side of the door. Ju sighed.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Could I get you anything?" the nurse asked.

"No. Can I just be alone for a while?"

"Alright."

Ju didn't move as she heard footsteps walking away from the office door. She leaned back in her chair and looked at the ceiling. Junjie was a spoiled brat who was begrudgingly protected by his father. Still, she had a small advantage to her situation. Zhong and Khai were good friends since they were in high school. Just maybe... She could reach through and clear up this mess. Maybe even get a small piece of justice for Szu. Ju felt herself slip back into her hole.

_What do I say to him, though?_

-Now-

Yao and Ju sat across from Zhong and his family. The head of the clan held his teacup.

"Have you come here to explain why Man's son beat up my son?" he asked. Ju moved her hands into her lap.

"It has come to my attention that your sister has raped one of the girls in my clan," she said. Zhong's wife gritted her teeth.

"Liar!" she screamed. "My son would never do that! You have no proof! She probably seduced him and is now screaming rape!" Ju gave her a dirty look as she resisted the urge to scream at her. Zhong waved off his wife.

"May I ask why you would bring such an allegation to me?" he asked.

"Trying to have Sun's son arrested would only expose your son's criminal behavior," Ju reasoned with him as calmly as she could. "All I ask is that you make this easier for us all and turn your son in for rape." Junjie rolled his eyes and his mother clenched her fists.

"How dare you?!" she screamed. "We ought to sue you for slander and harassment! That little whore is a liar!"

"Shut up, dear!" her husband snapped. He turned his attention back to Yao and Ju. "And why exactly should I turn in my own son?"

"You might want to change your mind after you read this," Yao said as he handed the man the folder. Zhong raised an eyebrow.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Read it," Yao said. The clan leader ripped open the top and reached inside. The pair across the glass coffee table waited as he began reading the test results.

-Last Night-

Yao was about to go to bed when his cell phone rang.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Yao, I'm so glad I caught you," a familiar Russian voice said. Usually, Yao would tremble in panic when he heard him calling him. Tonight was different, however.

"Tell me you have some good news," the Chinese man said. "Do we have anything that we could use to convince Zhong to send his son to prison?"

"You are going to love this, da," Ivan said on the other line. Yao could tell by his tone that the Russian man was smiling.

"Go on," he said.

"Well, I had Toris to do a little snooping around the health clinics and police databases in China and he came across something you are going to love."

"What is it?"

"You haven't forgotten your end of the bargain, da?"

Yao pressed his hand to his forehead. "No, I haven't."

"Good, I will deliver the information to you in the morning. Good night." Ivan hung up before Yao had the chance to ask again. He puffed up his cheeks as he stared at his phone. Unless it was in the bedroom, he hated teasing.

-Now-

Zhong's hands trembled as he lowered the DNA test results. He whipped his head around to his wife and Junjie.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked with a tone so cold. His wife gave him a doe-eyed look.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Junjie is not _my_ son!" he shouted. The heir's jaw dropped as his mother panicked.

"Honey, wait! Let me explain," she said.

"Who is the father?"

"Honey..."

"Who is the father?!"

His wife lowered her head. "Cheng."

Zhong's nostrils flared. "Cheng? You slept with my rival?"

"It was only a one-night stand. You were in prison and I was lonely. Cheng was being so nice to me while you were away." She desperately grabbed his arm. "But that's all in the past, right? You won't send our son to jail because of one lying little skank, will you? Don't you love your son?"

Zhong shoved her away, red-headed face. "I want you gone!"

His wife broke down into whimpering. "Please don't do this!"

"Dad!" Junjie shouted.

"You are not my son!" Zhong shouted. He turned back to Yao and Ju. "Do as you like with him!" He stood up and stormed out of the living room. Junjie turned to them with a panicked look in his eyes.

"I'll pay you!" he cried. "How much do you want?" Ju choked back her laughter.

"With what money?" she asked. Junjie drew his big mouth closed as his mother broke down sobbing.

"You can't fix this with money," Ju said. "You hurt somebody dear to me. Szu is like a little sister to me. You have two options now, either turn yourself into the police or we will do it for you." Junjie glared with his nostrils flared.

"Fuck you," he muttered under his breath.

"Fine," she said. "I gave you a chance." The young woman pulled out her cell phone and made the call. Before the morning was over, Junjie was taken away in handcuffs by the police. In the days to follow, his victims came forward gave their statements.

 

Junjie's ex who turned him in could finally move. Still, Ju had to deal with her uncle and that missing money from the clan.


	28. Rehearsal Dinner

Match Twenty-Eight: Rehearsal Dinner:

-Present Day-

The rehearsal dinner began at four in the afternoon. The bride-to-be, Ju, wore jeans and a pink tank top today. The adults of the clan whispered among each other about her clothing choice.

"Are you sure you are okay with wearing that?" Fei asked her from the bedroom door.

"Sure it is," Ju said. "I don't want to get my mother's dress dirty before the big day." On the surface, she looked so cheerful. However, there was no real joy to be held.

Yao and Ju stood before the clerk of the courthouse and walked them through the process. The old man looked them with his shifting eyes.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he whispered.

"Yes," Ju said without thinking. Her tone was so sure, but her lips trembled. Yao squeezed her hand as if to calm her down. The clerk shoved up his glasses.

"Very well," he said. "Do you need me to explain what you need to do again?"

"Yes," Ju said in a rushed voice.

"And you, sir?" the clerk asked Yao.

"Yes," he said.

"Very well," the clerk said. "When will this wedding take place."

"July eighth," the couple said. The clerk looked through his planner.

"How does ten in the morning sound?" he asked.

"We'll take it," the pair it. The clerk filled out the information in his planner.

"Alright," he said. "Would you like to pay in a deposit or cash?"

"Deposit," Yao said. He slid forward his bank card. Once the deposit was paid and the date for the wedding was confirmed, Ju knew that she couldn't back out now. Despite continuing to die inside, she knew that this was her fate.

\--------

Dinner was at six o'clock. Most of the countries showed up for the feast. It was supposed to be a festive celebration. However, one couldn't escape the feeling of this being more like a wake than a rehearsal dinner. The bride-to-be put on a brave face beside Yao. Kiku stared down at his drink. Ivan hid mostly in the back corner.

-Ju-

Yao still doesn't know about my personal problem in the bedroom. Ever since he caught me beating myself with the dish rag, he looks at me with those eyes of concern. He rose to his feet with a glass in his hand.

"I would like to propose a toast to our impending marriage!" Yao announced.

"Cheers!" the guests cheered. Marriage. It felt like the final execution to my soul. Don't get me wrong, I love Yao. I don't think I can stop loving him. To be honest, he has turned into an enabler. My beloved is an enabler to my own self-destruction. I can't tell him, either. He won't believe me. Why would it? I'm not sure if I'm imagining my drama anymore. If that's the case, why? What the hell am I so afraid of?

Whatever the case is, I have two weeks to deliver my answer before my final execution. I drink my wine and eat what can be called my last meal. As I drink, my eyes shifted over to Mr. Honda sitting further down the table.

-Ju on Kiku-

Every time I see Mr. Honda, he looks like he wants to tell Yao and I something. I have heard that he's been in and out of hospitals and therapy over the past two years. No one is willing to guess what is wrong with him. However, I have gotten a look into his eyes yesterday.

They look like they have seen hell or something worse. (I am sure that the latter is even possible.) However, he appears to ache to tell us, anyone, what's been bothering him. I don't think that he knows where to begin. Yao and Mrs. Honda don't seem to know how to ask the questions. I myself don't know how to ask either. Tonight doesn't seem like the appropriate time to ask Mr. Honda either.

I lowered my glass and shuddered. I am still not used to the bitter wine that my clan still sells. Strangely, this brand is one of our top sellers. I fail to see why people like this wine so much. I push aside that thought as my mind returns to Kiku. Maybe I will ask Yao later tonight. I pick up my chopsticks and my attention focuses on Ivan in the back corner.

-Ju on Ivan-

Ah yes, him. I still don't know what we are going to do with him. Ivan still seems to linger onto Yao even now. Ever since Yao and I became lovers, Ivan looked depressed and he won't leave my beloved alone. I am thankful for getting those DNA results on Junjie, but Yao told me there are strings attached. He refuses to tell me what they are, but that already has me worried.

Yao held my hand again. I turned my head and saw him giving me a little smile.

 

"Don't worry so much," his eyes told me. "Just enjoy tonight." I smile awkwardly. My mind didn't want to seem to do that as I looked over at Kiku and Ivan for the rest of the night.


	29. Agony

Match Twenty-Nine: Agony:

At this time, Kiku was allowed to have visitors. During those days, he found himself at ease. The chatter worked to take his mind off of the Woman in Red. Today, Ludwig and Feliciano were his visitors. The German man gave the Japanese man a curious look.

"How have you been doing lately?" he asked. Kiku felt his heart stop in his chest for a second.

"Why do you ask?" he asked.

"You've not been yourself," Feliciano said. "What's the matter?" Kiku lowered his eyes.

"It's difficult for me to say," he said. The Japanese man didn't know if it was a good idea to come out with it or not. Ludwig patted him on the shoulder.

"Take your time if you need to," he said in a low voice.

"Please don't touch me," Kiku murmured. The German man drew back his hand. Kiku pressed his hand to his chest.

"My home is suffering," he said.

"What do you mean?" Feliciano asked. The Japanese man clutched his sheets.

"I can feel the pain of Ikebukuro running through my body," he said.

"What do you mean?" Ludwig asked. Kiku lifted his head.

"The waste land is coming," he said in a choked-up voice. All of the color drained from the German man's face.

"You can't mean..." he said. Kiku slowly nodded his head up and down. Feliciano looked back and forth between the men.

"What are you talking about? What is the Waste Land?" he asked. The Japanese man pressed his lips together.

"I saw her," he whispered. He couldn't get that demonic-angelic smile or her kiss out of his head. Kiku brushed his fingertips to his lips. "She said that Ikebukuro and I are the centerpiece of something glorious about to happen."

"What are you talking about?" Ludwig asked. "Who is this ‘she' you are talking about?"

"I don't know," Kiku said. "She wouldn't give me her name."

"What did this woman look like?"

"She had long dark red hair and she wore a dress that matched her hair."

Ludwig tried to match the description up with anyone in their circle of friends. "That doesn't sound like anyone we know."

"We don't know her."

"What did you say?"

Feliciano struggled to keep up with the back and forth between the two men. "What are you guys talking about? You're going too fast." Ludwig turned his head.

"Do you promise to stay calm when Kiku tells you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" the Italian man asked. Kiku knew this would be too much their naïve friend to handle. Still, keeping it in any longer would further into insanity. The Japanese man looked him into the eye.

"Do you remember when I collapsed in that meeting two years ago?" he asked.

"Yes," Feliciano said. Kiku's hands trembled against his blanket.

"I think I might have brought something really bad upon us all." He held up his hand to stop Feliciano from talking. "Please listen." He put down his hand.

"I cannot say what will happen next. But, Yao and Ju's wedding could be a catalyst to our ruin."

"Show are you saying that we should stop the wedding?" Ludwig asked. The Japanese man shook his head.

"It is too late for that," he said.

"Then... what can we do?" Feliciano asked. Kiku huddled into a ball.

"I don't know..." he murmured. "I don't know..." Her words came back to haunt him once again.

"Something glorious is about to happen and you are the centerpiece along with Ikebukuro."

 

Kiku knew it would begin as soon the ink on Yao and Ju's wedding certificate dried.


	30. Red Wedding Part 1

Match Thirty: Red Wedding Part 1:

July eighth.

Judgement and execution day for Ju had arrived.

Ju would get married in three hours. Bik and Cai helped her get dressed in her mother’s red wedding dress.

“You look really pretty,” Cai whispered as she zipped up Ju’s back. The bride couldn’t explain this feeling in the pit of her stomach. She kept her lips pressed together. Even when Ju became dolled up with make-up and her hair put up in a high bun, the foreboding sat, watching from the corner of the room.

“Are you feeling okay?” Bik asked. “Miss? Miss?” The bride-to-be snapped out of her daze.

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“You’re shaking,” the nurse said.

Ju looked at her with a blank expression. “Huh?”

“Is it wedding nerves?”

Ju shook her head. “Oh, no, no. I’m fine. I was off in space.”

The nurse didn’t want to disagree with her today. The last thing they all needed was a really nervous Ju to back out of this arrangement Bik drew her mouth closed and shook her head.

“Never mind,” she said. “You look beautiful today.”

“Thank you,” Ju said. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to smile. Bik added the finishing touches.

“Done,” she said. Ju silently gulped.

“Bik, Cai,” she said. “May I be alone for a while?” Her voice trembled as she spoke. Cai opened her mouth, but Bik put her hand on her shoulder. The other woman eyed her as she shook her head. Cai bowed her head.

“We understand,” she said. Ju sat at her vanity desk as the two ladies walked out of the room.

-Ju-

My mother’s wedding dress made me feel so small. _What am I doing?_ Still, I had no right to complain. I was the one who came up with this idea in the first place. My clan needed me to do this. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Bik and Cai the truth, but they already see that I am not too eager for this.

My room was so quiet that I could hear my clock from what used to be my father’s bedroom. The ticking made me what to get up and tear it off the wall. For some reason, my legs felt like jelly. No, something inside of me wouldn’t let me get up. I love Yao and he has given me chances to back out of this impending marriage. Still, I wouldn’t take it. He’s probably waiting for me at the courthouse right now.

It’s kind of funny once you broke it down. All I had to do was show up at the courthouse, say my vows, sign and stamp the paperwork, and I was married. It looked so simple to a normal person. But to me…

I closed my eyes.

The hangman’s noose felt much closer than it was the first time I slept with Yao. I looked up and saw it swaying in the wind. I stood below dressed up in my mother’s dress and wedding accessories with my hands chained behind my back. In the distance, I heard the horns calling the crowd to come and watch the execution. The guard pushed me forward to the steps.

“You can still run away,” I heard someone whisper behind me. I turned my head and saw my thirteen-year-old self dressed in a black cloak and hood. She stood in front of a tunnel made of vines.

“There is still time,” she whispered. “You can still run away from all of this. Come with me.” I wanted to join her. Maybe I could be free, get from all that pushed upon me, live with my mind still intact. I still had the time. I could just break away. She was right, I still had time. Escaping felt so easy…

I shook my head. My thirteen-year-old self frowned.

“Why not?” she asked.

“I chose this path,” I said.

“But…”

“Look, as much I would love to be, it wouldn’t work out. I have people who need me. I made a promise to the one that I love.”

“But do you have to sacrifice yourself for them? What about our dreams? What about what we wanted?”

“You and I are different now. Things have changed since father died. I put away those dreams after I became clan leader.” I noticed her eyes beginning to wail up. “Aw, don’t cry, I will still be me.”

My thirteen-year-old self wiped away her tears. “That’s not why I’m crying.”

“Then… what’s wrong?”

“I’m going to miss you.”

“What are you talking about? I’ll still be here.”

“Do you _really_ love him?”

“I do.”

My thirteen-year-old self lowered her head. “I understand. I won’t forget you. Have a nice afterlife with him.”

“I will.”

She blew me a kiss goodbye as the guard pushed me up the wooden steps.

“Ju!” I heard someone yell in reality. I turned my head to see Bik standing in the doorway of my bedroom.

“It’s time to go,” she said. I bowed my head.

“Yes,” I said. I got up and followed her to the waiting taxi parked outside. The ride to the courthouse took about an hour and a half. I stared out the window, feeling nothing inside of me. In my mind’s eyes, I stood on the small platform under the noose. After today, I will no longer be Liao Ju.

By 9:45, the taxi pulled up to the courthouse. Bik held my dress as I climbed up. I pushed down my emotions as I walked up the stairs and went inside. Yao stood at the front desk with the wedding party, waiting for me. He held out his hand for mine.


	31. Red Wedding Part 2

Match Thirty-One: Red Wedding Part 2:

“Please take your seats,” the clerk said. The guests sat down in the benches behind the couple. Ju squeezed Yao’s hand.

“We are gathered here today to witness this union between man and woman,” the clerk said. He turned his eyes to the bridal couple. “Shall we begin?”

“Yes,” Yao said. Ju had the face of a brave woman facing her execution.

-Ju’s Mind-

She stood before a waiting crowd dressed up in their finest clothes. The prisoner pressed her lips together as the executioner read through his lines for the wedding. He turned to the hangman, Yao in his traditional wedding clothes.

“Wang, please say your vows,” he said.

“Ju, I will love and protect you until death do we part,” Yao said. “I know you are a strong woman, but I want to be supportive of you in love and marriage. I don’t want to be a father or a guardian. I want to be a friend, partner, and husband. I promise to love and honor our vows forever.” The clerk turned to Ju.

“Liao, please say your vows,” he said. The bride stepped up and put the noose around her neck.

“I…” she began. The bride pressed her lips together as she looked around the guests eyeing her. She moved her hand to her chest.

“I love you, Yao, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” Ju said. “I will honor and love you always. I will give you all of me—body, heart, and soul. Along with my love for you, I will be true to myself. I want you to make the better version of myself. I love you and look forward to spending the rest of my life with you.”

“Please exchange rings,” the clerk said. Yao and Ju exchanged wedding rings. The bride looked at her platinum and diamond ring on her finger as the noose tightened around her next.

“Yao, do you take Ju to be your wife to honor and love in sickness and health, for better or worse until death do you part?” the clerk asked.

“I do,” Yao said.

“Ju, do you take Yao to be your husband to honor and love in sickness and health, for better or worse until death do you part?” the clerk asked.

“I do,” Ju said. The clerk shoved the papers forward.

“Please stamp your names on the lines below,” he said. Yao took the stamp and made his mark. Ju followed behind with her stamped signature.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the city clerk said. “Please kiss your bride.” With one romantic Judas-like kiss, the stand was kicked away from Ju’s feet and she hanged there on display for her guests to see. For some reason, Ju was okay with all of this.

-Reality-

The reception went on through the night. Ju’s worry that she had felt up until the worry had sank down into the floor and disappeared. A little smile came across her face. Yao squeezed her hand at the reception table.

“Happy?” he whispered. Ju closed her eyes and nodded.

“Yes,” she said.

\-------

Meanwhile, Tina had slipped outside to make a quick phone call. She had just hung up when she noticed a sweet, vintage corvette parked outside the reception hall. The bridesmaid gave the car a cold glare as she walked up to it. Stefan happened to look up and notice her.

“Tina?” the Belgian asked. The American woman smacked the driver’s car door.

“Go home, Stefan!” she said through gritted teeth. Stefan raised an eyebrow at her.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” he lied.

“She is married now! She is never going to get back with you! Go home to Belgium! You are wasting your time!” Tina snapped. Stefan sighed and shook his head.

“Fine,” he said. The bridesmaid put her hands on her hips as he drove away. _I still don’t trust that guy_ , she thought.

\--------

Back inside, Ju felt herself getting lost in her inner self’s afterlife. _I wonder what’s going to happen now_ , she thought.


End file.
